12 Apr 2011
Alpha Strategic plc, the AIM listed hedge fund investment group, has conditionally raised approximately £2.5 million before expenses through a placing to Northill Europe Holdings of 4.7 million ordinary shares at a price of 53 pence each.
Northill is a private company incorporated in Luxembourg whose sole shareholder is Northill Jersey Holdings LP. The ultimate majority owner of Northill is the Bertarelli family, which was the majority shareholder and manager of Serono, a leading biotech company, which Merck acquired in 2007.
The additional funds from Northill will be used to support and accelerate Alpha Strategic’s strategy of acquiring additional, non-correlated revenue streams, which will in turn serve to expand and diversify Alpha Strategic’s income base. The directors of Alpha Strategic continue to actively market Alpha Strategic’s business mode and both early and advanced stage discussions are ongoing.
Following the admission of the new shares to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange Alpha Strategic will have 9.2 million shares in issue and a market capitalisation of £4.9 million. The placing of the shares will represent approximately 51% of the issued share capital of Alpha Strategic immediately following admission.
Alpha Strategic has undertaken to issue to Northill additional shares at completion of the placing to ensure that it maintains a 51% shareholding of Alpha Strategic. Northill has also been granted warrants to enable it to add up to 10% to its holding (while not taking it above 51%) in Alpha Strategic should additional transactions dilute the shareholding.
In normal circumstances a general offer from Northill to Alpha Strategic’s shareholders would be required under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code to acquire all the Ordinary Shares not already owned by Northill. However, the Takeover Panel has agreed to waive the requirement for a full offer for Alpha Strategic as stipulated under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code, following approval by certain of Alpha Strategic’s independent shareholders.
Prior to founding Northill, Little was Vice Chairman of BNY Mellon Asset Management and a member of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation’s Global Executive Committee. He joined Mellon in 2000 and was latterly head of BNY Mellon’s International Asset Management business and was responsible for all non‐US asset management businesses.
Northill is a private company incorporated in Luxembourg whose sole shareholder is Northill Jersey Holdings LP. The ultimate majority owner of Northill is the Bertarelli family, which was the majority shareholder and manager of Serono, a leading biotech company, which Merck acquired in 2007.
“It is fantastic to have a partner with the scale and expertise of Northill on board,” said Alpha Strategic’s CEO Nicola Meaden Grenham. “Not only is it a pleasing endorsement of the considerable merits of the Alpha Strategic business model but it is also expected to accelerate future growth and subsequently income of Alpha Strategic to the benefit of our investors.”Alpha Strategic specialises in acquiring multiple revenue streams from a diverse range of key alternative investment strategies, managed by experienced hedge fund managers. It has existing agreements Winton Capital Management and IKOS Asset Management. The company has balance sheet cash of £1.3 million but has seen its shares drift to around 50 pence after floating at 100 pence in 2005.
The additional funds from Northill will be used to support and accelerate Alpha Strategic’s strategy of acquiring additional, non-correlated revenue streams, which will in turn serve to expand and diversify Alpha Strategic’s income base. The directors of Alpha Strategic continue to actively market Alpha Strategic’s business mode and both early and advanced stage discussions are ongoing.
“We are delighted to have entered this mutually beneficial partnership with Alpha Strategic and look forward to working with the company’s excellent management team,” said Jonathan Little, who founded Northill with the Bertarelli family in November 2010 and who will join the board as a non-executive director when the placing completes on May 6. “The innovative nature of the business has seen it team up with some of the most experienced and respected managers in the industry while at the same time championing transparency and liquidity for investors.”
Following the admission of the new shares to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange Alpha Strategic will have 9.2 million shares in issue and a market capitalisation of £4.9 million. The placing of the shares will represent approximately 51% of the issued share capital of Alpha Strategic immediately following admission.
Alpha Strategic has undertaken to issue to Northill additional shares at completion of the placing to ensure that it maintains a 51% shareholding of Alpha Strategic. Northill has also been granted warrants to enable it to add up to 10% to its holding (while not taking it above 51%) in Alpha Strategic should additional transactions dilute the shareholding.
In normal circumstances a general offer from Northill to Alpha Strategic’s shareholders would be required under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code to acquire all the Ordinary Shares not already owned by Northill. However, the Takeover Panel has agreed to waive the requirement for a full offer for Alpha Strategic as stipulated under Rule 9 of the Takeover Code, following approval by certain of Alpha Strategic’s independent shareholders.
Prior to founding Northill, Little was Vice Chairman of BNY Mellon Asset Management and a member of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation’s Global Executive Committee. He joined Mellon in 2000 and was latterly head of BNY Mellon’s International Asset Management business and was responsible for all non‐US asset management businesses.
