Ant Plc : - Scheme of Arrangement sanctioned by Court

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Not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in, into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction.

30 January 2013

ANT Plc (the "Company", "ANT")

Scheme of Arrangement sanctioned by Court

ANT announces that at a hearing held earlier today, the High Court of Justice in England and Wales (the "Court") sanctioned the scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 (the "Scheme") to effect the proposed acquisition of ANT by Espial (UK) Limited.

Completion of the Scheme remains subject to the satisfaction or, where applicable, waiver of the remaining conditions of the Scheme set out in the Scheme Document including, inter alia, the confirmation of the Reduction of Capital by the Court. The Court Hearing to confirm the Reduction of Capital is scheduled to take place on 1 February 2013.

It is expected that the last day for dealings in ANT Shares will be 31 January 2013, that dealings in ANT Shares will be suspended from 7.30am on 1 February 2013 and that the Scheme will become effective on 4 February 2013.  If the Scheme becomes effective on 4 February 2013, it is expected that the admission to trading on AIM of the ANT Shares will be cancelled at 7.00 a.m. on 4 February 2013 or shortly thereafter.

A further announcement will be made in due course.

Other

Capitalised terms used, but not defined, in this announcement shall have the same meaning as set out in the Scheme Document.

Enquiries:

ANT Plc	Tel: [phone]
Royston Hoggarth, Non-Executive Chairman
Westhouse Securities(financial adviser, nominated adviser and broker to ANT plc)	Tel: [phone]
Tom Griffiths Paul Gillam
NewgateThreadneedle(public relations adviser to ANT plc)	Tel: [phone]
Caroline Evans-Jones Fiona Conroy

Notices

Responsibility

The ANT Directors take responsibility for the information contained in this announcement. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the ANT Directors who have taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case, the information contained in this announcement is in accordance with the facts.

Westhouse Securities, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for ANT and no one else in connection with the matters referred to in this announcement and the Scheme Document and will not be responsible to anyone other than ANT for providing the protections afforded to customers of Westhouse Securities nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to in this announcement.

Further Information

This announcement does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities pursuant to this document and otherwise in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. ANT Shareholders are advised to read carefully the formal documentation relating to the Proposal. The Proposal is made solely through the Scheme Document and Forms of Proxy which contain the full terms and conditions of the Scheme. 

Overseas Jurisdictions

This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with the laws of England and Wales and the City Code, and the information disclosed herein or therein may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if these documents had been prepared in accordance with the laws of any other jurisdiction.

The distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by the laws of those jurisdictions and therefore persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about, and observe, such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Publication on website

A copy of this announcement will be available, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in any Restricted Jurisdictions, on www.antplc.com by no later than 12:00 noon (London time) on 31 January 2013 (being the Business Day following the date of this announcement) in accordance with Rule 30.4 of the Code.

The contents of ANT's website are not incorporated into and do not form part of this announcement.

Dealing Disclosure Requirements

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Takeover Code, any person who is interested in one per cent or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any paper offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the Offer Period and, if later, following the announcement in which any paper offeror is first identified.

An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any paper offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the Offer Period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any paper offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a paper offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Takeover Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in one per cent or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any paper offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any paper offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any paper offeror, save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a paper offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the Offer Period commenced and when any offeror was first identified.

If you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure, you should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on [phone].

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