ANNOUNCEMENT PURSUANT TO RULE 3.7 OF THE TAKEOVERS CODE
This announcement is also issued pursuant to Rule 3.7 of the Takeovers Code.
If the Special Dividend is approved at the AGM, and depending on the increase in its level of shareholding interest(s), as a result of the election to receive the Special Dividend by way of scrip dividend, one or more holder(s) of Shares or holder(s) of ADSs (together with parties acting in concert with it) may result in an increase in the shareholding of more than 2% of the enlarged issued share capital of the Company and such holder(s) of Shares or holder(s) of ADSs (as the case may be) could thereby become obligated to make a mandatory general offer in accordance with Rule 26 of the Takeovers Code.
If all holders of Shares and holders of ADSs take up the proposed scrip dividend alternative entitlement in full, the percentage shareholding of all holders of Shares and holders of ADSs will not change. Therefore, no such mandatory general offer will be triggered.
As at the date of this announcement, based on the information available to the Company, the Controlling Shareholders altogether controlled 474,905,000 Shares, representing approximately 41.43% of the total issued Shares; and the Substantial Shareholder held and interested in 308,198,174 Shares, representing approximately 26.89% of the total issued Shares. Assuming only the Controlling Shareholders or only the Substantial Shareholder (as the case may be) elect for all scrip dividend, while all other holders of Shares and holders of ADS elect for all cash dividend, the Controlling Shareholders or the Substantial Shareholder might trigger a mandatory general offer in accordance with Rule 26 of the Takeovers Code.
Securities of the Company
Pursuant to Rule 3.8 of the Takeovers Code, set out below are details of all classes of relevant securities (as defined in Note 4 to Rule 22 of the Takeovers Code) issued by the Company, together with the number of such securities in issue as at the date of this announcement:
1. 1,146,319,171 Shares of US$0.00001 each are in issue;
2. options to subscribe for up to 13,394,025 Shares (equivalent to 6,697,012 ADSs) granted under the Company’s 2014 Share Incentive Plan adopted in December 2014 are outstanding;
3. performance share units to subscribe for up to 656,531 Shares (equivalent to 328,265 ADSs) granted under the Company’s 2019 Performance Share Unit plan adopted in September 2019 are outstanding; and
4. Ping An Convertible Promissory Notes in an aggregate principal amount of US$976.9 million, which can be converted into an aggregate of 76,679,748 Shares (equivalent to 38,339,874 ADSs).