Unite Group Plc (LON: UTG) has today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Liberty Living Group Plc from Liberty Living Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Richard Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Unite Group, said:
“I am delighted that we have completed the transformational acquisition of Liberty Living, reinforcing our position as a leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation in the UK. This deal brings together two complementary businesses who share a commitment to providing high quality, affordable student accommodation with a focus on service and welfare and a strategic alignment to universities where student demand is strongest.
“The deal will accelerate our earnings, driving meaningful accretion from 2020 onwards. It also gives us enhanced scale which, combined with our best-in-class operating platform, means we are well-placed to meet the substantial market opportunity from the 1.5 million students requiring accommodation each year.”
Unite is pleased to announce that, with effect from completion, Thomas Jackson, nominated by CPPIB, has been appointed as a non-executive director of the Company.
Admission of the 72,582,286 new ordinary shares of 25 pence each issued to Liberty Living Holdings Inc. in part consideration for the Acquisition to the premium listing segment of the Official List maintained by the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on 29 November 2019.
In accordance with the FCA Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, subsequent to this share issue, Unite’s issued share capital consists of 363,531,737 ordinary shares. There are no ordinary shares held in treasury. Therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 363,531,737.
This figure, 363,531,737, may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the DTR.
