02 Jul 14. Manroy Plc – Offer unconditional in all respects. On 28 March 2014, the Boards of FN Herstal SA (“Herstal”) and Manroy Plc
(“Manroy”) announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer to be made by Herstal for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Manroy (the “Offer”). The full terms and conditions of the Offer, together with the procedures for acceptance of the Offer, are set out in the offer document which was issued by Herstal on 25 April 2014 (the “Offer Document”). On 19 May 2014, Herstal announced that the Offer had become unconditional as to acceptances. However, the Offer remained subject to the Conditions set out in the Offer Document. In particular, the Offer remained subject to the condition set out in paragraph 1(b) of Appendix 1, Part A of the Offer Document, which stated that the Offer was conditional on the Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) indicating in terms satisfactory to Herstal that it did not intend to make a Phase 2 CMA reference of the proposed acquisition of Manroy by Herstal. On 1 July 2014, the CMA indicated that it would not be making a Phase 2 CMA reference. Therefore the condition relating to the CMA, as summarised above, has now been satisfied. All other Conditions to the Offer have either been satisfied or waived and Herstal has announced that the Offer has become unconditional in all respects. The Offer has been extended and will remain open for acceptance until further notice. As set out in the Offer Document, as the Offer has become unconditional in all respects and Herstal has received valid acceptances under the Offer in respect of more than 75 per cent of the voting rights of Manroy, Manroy has applied to the London Stock Exchange for the cancellation of the admission of the Manroy Shares to trading on AIM. The cancellation of the admission to trading on AIM of the Manroy Shares is expected to take effect on 30 July 2014, being 20 Business Days from the date of this announcement. Such cancellation of the admission to trading on AIM of the Manroy Shares will significantly reduce the liquidity and marketability of any Manroy Shares not assented to the Offer.
10 Jul 14. After months of speculation, Qualcomm has acquired Israeli WiGig (wireless gigabit) chipmaker Wilocity in a move that will power the US semiconductor giant to the forefront of high-speed networking tech. According to Qualcomm’s website, the merge with the Israeli startup will now introduce the industry’s first tri-band wireless solutions that combine Qualcomm’s dual-band Wi-Fi with Wilocity’s WiGig and advance next-generation wifi networks. The agreement will also deliver multi-gigabit wireless with 60 GHz technology for mobile, computing and networking devices. Financial details surrounding the agreement were not released but Israeli media reported in May that Qualcomm had offered $300m for a potential acquisition of the Caesarea-based Wilocity. Wilocity is a leader in development of 60 GHz wireless chipsets based on the IEEE 802.11ad standard also known as WiGig technology. “Tri-band wireless capabilities will revolutionize enterprise computing and networking, with enterprises benefiting immensely,” said Sujai Hajela, senior vice president, enterprise networking group, Cisco. “The multi-gigabit performance and enhanced network capacity that is delivered through WiGig will dramatically alter the way people access and use network-based resources. It’s great to be working with an industry leader like Qualcomm, who is investing in the latest technologies and driving an ecosystem that can take advantage of them.” Wilocity and Qualcomm have been working together since 2008 to develop WiGig chipsets for devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. (Source: theisraelproject.org/via Israel21c)
08 Jul 14. Unipart Automotive closes in on rescue deal. Unipart Automotive is close to securing a rescue deal that will save the British car parts supplier