Latest News
December 2008
Conditional Placing
Brulines Group plc (AIM:BRU), the market leading provider of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the UK leisure sector, today announces a conditional placing of up to 3,786,641 ordinary shares (the “Placing Shares”) with various institutional investors at a price of £1.25 per share (the “Placing Price”) to raise approximately £4.7 million before expenses (the “Placing”). The Placing is conditional, inter alia, on resolutions being passed at a General Meeting of the Group to be held on 29 December 2008. The Placing Shares are expected to be admitted to AIM and commence trading on 30 December 2008.
The Directors believe the current economic climate is providing the Group with significant opportunities as is evidenced by the Group’s announcement earlier today of the acquisition of Vianet Limited (“Vianet”). Vianet provides, what the Directors believe is, market leading telemetry and data capture solutions to the vending industry as well as providing market leading M2M telemetry solutions in a growing market place. The Directors believe that this acquisition not only makes strong strategic sense but will allow both Vianet and Brulines to exploit the obvious operating synergies that exist between them. For further information please see the earlier acquisition announcement.
With the Group well placed to sustain its organic growth path within the leisure sector, the Directors believe that the Placing will enable the Group to take advantage of further complimentary acquisition and commercial opportunities as and when they arise, as well as strengthening considerably the Group’s balance sheet. Such acquisitions would enable the Group to extend its core capabilities into adjacent markets, where the Directors believe there exists an opportunity to establish market leading products and services, as well as consolidating in sectors in which the Group already operates. The Group’s strategic intent is to profitably extend its data handling penetration and footprint in the leisure, vending and petrol forecourt sectors where there is considerable overlap, and to achieve market leading positions using its core capabilities and market leading products.
Brulines has entered into a placing agreement with Cenkos Securities plc (“Cenkos”) pursuant to which Cenkos has, on behalf of Brulines, conditionally placed the shares with various investors at the Placing Price.
A circular containing details of the placing is being posted to shareholders today and will be available on the Group’s website: www.brulines.com
Commenting on today’s news, Chief Executive James Dickson said:
“I am delighted at the level of institutional support, which endorses our growth strategy. We are excited about the opportunity to build a stronger business and to capitalise on the opportunity to expand our core capabilities into adjacent markets.”
