Computacenter plc ("Computacenter" or the "Company") announces that it proposes to make a one-off Return of Value to Shareholders of 48.7p per existing ordinary share, equivalent to approximately £75 million or approximately 10.8% of Computacenter's current market capitalisation. The return is being made using a B Share structure with an associated Share Capital Consolidation of 9 New Ordinary Shares for every 10 Existing Ordinary Shares. The approval of Shareholders is required for the Return of Value and Share Capital Consolidation. Accordingly, the Company will shortly be posting a circular to its Shareholders and convening an Extraordinary General Meeting, expected to be held on 11 June 2013, to approve the transaction.
Computacenter Chief Executive Officer, Mike Norris said: "We are very pleased to confirm, as previously announced, the return of approximately £75 million to our shareholders. The cash-generative nature of Computacenter's business has resulted in a net cash balance in excess of our current needs. This has placed us in a position where we are now able to make the second significant one-off return of value to our shareholders, while maintaining an appropriate balance sheet structure to continue growing the business and serving our clients."
Rationale for the Return of Value
While the Company intends to continue to maintain a robust and prudent balance sheet, the Directors believe that it is now appropriate to undertake a return of capital to shareholders, in addition to the normal dividend. Computacenter will continue to monitor its balance sheet to ensure that it is efficient, as it has done historically. Computacenter also returned £74.4 million to Shareholders by way of a one-off capital return via a B Share structure in 2006 equating to 39p per share.
