DS Smith announces results of three-for-11 rights issue

DS Smith announced on Wednesday that the three-for-11 rights issue of 293,068,454 new ordinary shares, at 350p each as announced on 19 June, closed for acceptances at 1100 BST on 24 July.

The FTSE 100 company said it received valid acceptances in respect of 282,893,119 new ordinary shares, representing about 96.5% of the total number of new shares to be issued pursuant to the fully underwritten rights Issue.

It said it expected that the new ordinary shares in uncertificated form would be credited to CREST accounts “as soon as practicable” after 0800 BST on Wednesday, and that definitive share certificates in respect of new ordinary shares in certificated form would be dispatched to shareholders by no later than 3 August.

DS Smith also said it expected that the new ordinary shares would commence trading, fully paid, on the London Stock Exchange main market for listed securities on Wednesday.

“The net proceeds from the placing of such new ordinary shares, after the deduction of the issue price of 350p per share and the expenses of procuring subscribers including any applicable brokerage and commissions and amounts in respect of VAT which are not recoverable, if any, will be paid without interest to those persons whose rights have lapsed in accordance with the terms of the rights Issue, pro rata to their lapsed provisional allotments, save that individual amounts of less than £5 will not be paid to such persons but will be aggregated and paid to the company,” the DS Smith board explained.

It said a further announcement as to the number of new ordinary shares for which subscribers had been procured would be made in due course.