Ascential Plc (ASCL) Ordinary 1p

What is happening?

Ascential Plc wants to return up to £850 million to shareholders. As part of this the company is offering to buy its shares at a price between £3.15 and £3.31. This is called a tender offer.

If you don’t want to tender your shares, you don't need to do anything. You’ll keep your existing shares.

Please see below for a breakdown of the tender offer:

• You can ask to sell (tender) some or all of your shares at a specific price which is not less than £3.15, or greater than £3.31 (in increments of £0.04, e.g. £3.15, £3.19, £3.23, £3.27, £3.31). Alternatively you can ask to tender at the eventual purchase price, which will be determined on completion of the offer.

• The eventual purchase price will be the lowest price within the range at which the company can accept tenders totalling up to £300 million.

• If you tender your shares at a price higher than the purchase price your instruction will be rejected and your shares will be returned to you.

• If you tender your shares at a price less than or equal to the eventual purchase price, you’ll receive the purchase price for any shares successfully sold. However, depending on the total number of elections, you may not sell all of the shares you ask to tender. As your shares are held with Hargreaves Lansdown scaling back of excess elections may not be on the same terms as those announced by the company.

Tender shares – Act by noon on Thursday 2 May 2024

The tender proceeds for any shares successfully tendered are expected from 15 May 2024.

Consolidation and Special Dividend

In addition to the tender offer, the company is also intending to return at least £450 million to shareholders by way of a special dividend expected to be paid on 3 June 2024. This payment will be accompanied by a consolidation expected to become effective on 20 May 2024, which is aimed at maintaining the comparability of the company’s share price before and after the payment.

The tender offer and consolidation are subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting being to be held on Monday 22 April 2024. Shareholder approval is not required for the declaration of the special dividend, but the Board does not intend to declare the special dividend unless shareholders approve the consolidation.

Should these proposals be approved, the ratio for the consolidation and rate for the special dividend will be announced on 8 May 2024, and we will contact you again with further information.

Full details of this event will be sent to Qualifying Hargreaves Lansdown clients by either post or secure message. Please note that any instruction you give must be based on the full details provided in the letter and not on the summary information outlined above.