Share Buyback
EKF purchased 700,000 ordinary shares at 22.0p weighted average; intends further buybacks up to £1.0m.
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EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc (AIM: EKF), the AIM-listed global diagnostics business, announces that it has purchased a total of 700,000 of its ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a weighted average price of 22.0 pence per share. The Ordinary Shares purchased will be held in treasury.
The Company intends to conduct further on-market purchases of up to c.£1.0m, pursuant to the authorities obtained at the Company's last annual general meeting held on 14 May 2024.
Aggregated information
| Date of purchase | 31 March 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Ordinary Shares purchased | 700,000 | ||
| Highest price paid per Ordinary Share | 22p | ||
| Lowest price paid per Ordinary Share | 21.9p | ||
| Volume weighted average price paid | 22.0p | ||
| Transaction details | |||
| Number of Ordinary Shares purchased | Transaction price (GBp) | Time of transaction | Trading venue |
| 110,000 | 22.0p | 08:45:40 | AIMX |
| 100,000 | 22.0p | 13:10:58 | AIMX |
| 142,886 | 21.9p | 13:15:56 | AIMX |
| 141,154 | 22.0p | 15:35:27 | AIMX |
| 205,960 | 22.0p | 16:05:39 | AIMX |
Total voting rights
Following the purchase, the Company's total issued share capital will consist of 454,930,564 Ordinary Shares each carrying one voting right, of which 1,900,000 Ordinary Shares are held in treasury. Therefore, the total number of Ordinary Shares carrying voting rights will be 453,030,564. This figure 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 FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Christopher Mills, Non-Executive Director of the Company, is the Chief Investment Officer of Harwood Capital Management (Gibraltar) Limited ("Harwood"), which is investment manager to Oryx International Growth Fund Limited ("Oryx") and Chief Investment Officer of North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust PLC ("NASCIT"). Mr. Mills is a director and shareholder in Oryx and also a director and shareholder in NASCIT. Oryx and NASCIT hold 37,000,000 and 96,000,000 Ordinary Shares, respectively, and 133,800,000 Ordinary Shares in aggregate (with 800,000 Ordinary Shares held by Harwood Capital LLP), which is equivalent to approximately 29.49% of the current total voting rights in the Company. Harwood will facilitate the participation of these entities in the share buy back pro rata to their existing aggregate holding, with the intention that the aggregate indirect beneficial interest of Mr. Mills remains at approximately this level and in any event does not exceed 30.00% of the prevailing total voting rights in the Company following any repurchases. This is solely in order for Mr. Mills and the above connected entities (which are, unless otherwise established, deemed to be acting in concert in accordance with the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers) to avoid otherwise being subject to an obligation under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers to make a mandatory offer for the Company's entire share capital or to obtain the requisite shareholder approval for a waiver from the Takeover Panel from such obligation.
PDMR dealing
As part of the buyback and within the above aggregate purchase, EKF acquired 205,960 Ordinary Shares at a price 22.0 pence per share from Harwood as investment manager to Oryx. Harwood has facilitated this transaction solely in order to ensure that the aggregate indirect beneficial interest of Mr. Mills remains at approximately the same level and in any event does not exceed 30% of the prevailing total voting rights in the Company following any repurchases.
Following the above sale of Ordinary Shares by Oryx to the Company, Mr. Mills' aggregate indirect interest in the Company is 133,594,040 Ordinary Shares.
Additional disclosures relating to this PDMR dealing are detailed below.
The person responsible for arranging the release of this Announcement
on behalf of the Company is Julian Baines, Executive Chair.
| EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc | www.ekfdiagnostics.com | |
| Julian Baines, Executive Chair | via Walbrook PR | |
| Gavin Jones, Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser & Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000 | |
| Phil Davies / Oliver Platts | ||
| Walbrook PR Limited | Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or ekf@walbrookpr.com | |
| Paul McManus / Alice Woodings | Mob: +44 (0)7980 541 893 / +44 (0) 7407 804 654 | |
| a) | Name | Christopher Mills |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Non-Executive Director |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial Notification |
| a) | Name | EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc |
| b) | LEI | 213800DXTF3EAUK1AR05 |
| a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument | Ordinary Shares of 1 pence each |
| Identification code | GB0031509804 | |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Disposal of Ordinary Shares |
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) | |
| Price(s) | Volume(s) | |
| 22p | 205,960 | |
| d) | Aggregated information | |
| - Aggregated volume | n/a | |
| - Price | ||
| e) | Date of the transaction | 31 March 2025 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | London Stock Exchange, AIMX |
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.