The Renault group announces that it is selling its remaining shares in the AB Volvo group, bought in 2001, in order to:
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strengthen the financial situation of the Group,
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enhance the financial flexibility of the Group.
Today, Renault has initiated the sale of its entire stake in the Series A shares of AB Volvo representing 6.5% of the share capital and 17.2% of the voting rights. After this transaction is completed, the Renault group will no longer hold any shares in AB Volvo.
This transaction will complete Renault’s exit of AB Volvo’s capital, which was initiated on October 6, 2010 with the sale by Renault of its entire stake in Series B shares which represented at that time 14.9% of the share capital and 3.8% of the voting rights of AB Volvo.
The sale of the block of 138,604,945 Series A shares is made via an accelerated book building and a private placement in Sweden and rest of the world.
The funds raised through this sale will strengthen the financial stability of the Renault group and will be allocated in priority to:
- the reduction of the net automotive debt of the Renault group;
- investments decided within the Plan, notably in France that will represent around 40% of industrial investments of the Group in 2013;
- strategic international investments of the Group, notably in Russia and China, which will constitute new opportunities for growth that will strengthen the Group.
These investments are required for the preparation of the Group’s future in order to follow the rejuvenation program of the range, strengthen the competitiveness of its European plants and foster the international expansion of Renault.
This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities and the offer of Volvo shares does not constitute a public offering in any jurisdiction, including France and Sweden.
In the United Kingdom, this communication is for distribution only to (i) investment professionals falling within article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). In the United Kingdom, this document is directed only at such relevant persons and it is not intended to be distributed, directly or indirectly, to any other person and any investment activity to which this document relates will be available only to, and will be engaged in only with, relevant persons .
The offer and sale of the securities referred to in this announcement has not been, nor will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and the securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent such registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will be no public offering of the securities in the United States in connection with this transaction.
Any investment decision to buy shares in Volvo AB must be made solely on the basis of publicly available information regarding Volvo AB. Such information is not the responsibility of Renault and has not been independently verified by Renault.
Release, publication or distribution of this press release is forbidden in any country where it would violate applicable laws or regulations.