Avast proposes capital reduction and subscriber share cancellation

19th Sep 2018 10:19

(Sharecast News) - Cybersecurity provider Avast announced a proposed capital reduction of its share premium account, and a proposed cancellation of the non-voting subscriber share, on Wednesday.The London-listed firm also issued a notice convening a general meeting at which the appropriate shareholder resolutions would be sought to effect the capital reduction and the subscriber share cancellation.As it anticipated in its prospectus on 10 May, the company said it was proposing to reduce the amount standing to the credit of the company's share premium account by £138m in order to create distributable reserves.It said that would support both the future payment by the company of dividends to its shareholders, and share buybacks should circumstances dictate it desirable to do so.It was also proposing to cancel the subscriber share in order to remove from its post-admission capital structure an unlisted and non-voting share which, though integral to its pre-admission capital structure, was no longer considered "expedient or necessary".The board said each of the capital reduction and the subscriber share cancellation remained conditional on both the passing of the capital reduction resolution and the subscriber share cancellation resolution the general meeting, and being approved and confirmed by the court."The directors consider that both the capital reduction and the subscriber share cancellation are likely to promote the success of the company for the benefits of the shareholders as a whole," the board said in its statement."Accordingly, the Board unanimously recommends that the shareholders vote in favour of each of the resolutions, as the directors intend to do in respect of the shares that they own or control, being 415,073,276 ordinary shares or approximately 43.54% of the company's issued share capital as at 17 September."