Coats

Coats announces intention to delist from NZX and ASX

  • 17 Nov 2015

Coats Group plc, the world’s leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, today announces its decision to simplify its listing structure and delist its shares from both the NZX Main Board (NZX) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).  The intended date for delisting is 24 June 2016, at which point Coats shares would only be tradable on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The decision reflects the much reduced shareholder base in the two countries, the benefit of concentrating trading volumes on one market, thus moving towards indexation on the LSE, and the transition from an investment company to a UK headquartered, global industrial manufacturing business.  In addition it will eliminate the costs and complexities arising from a triple listing and share register structure.

Mike Clasper, Chairman, Coats Group plc said: ‘We are now a UK headquartered, global industrial manufacturing business, having moved away from our New Zealand investment company past.  All major investments apart from the Coats business have been sold, culminating in the change of name from Guinness Peat Group to Coats Group.  With more than 65% of shareholders now UK based and less than 20% in New Zealand and Australia the Board believes the benefits of moving to a single London listing outweigh those of remaining on the NZX and ASX.’

To find out more go to: www.coats.com/investors/delistings

Coats has today also issued a trading update which can be found at www.coats.com/investors

ENDS

For more information contact:

Media UK: Richard Mountain, FTI Consulting +44 20 3727 1374

Media NZ and Australia: Geoff Senescall, Senescall Akers +64 9 309 5659

New Zealand and Australian shareholders: Computershare Investor Services, coats@computershare.co.nz       
+64 9 488 8777 / +61 3 9415 4083

Investors: Jaideep Thatai, Head of IR +44 20 8210 5086

Notes to Editors

About Coats

With a rich heritage dating back to the 1750s, Coats is the world's leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, at home in more than 70 countries, employing over 20,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2014 were US$1.7bn.

Our well-known brands and strong relationships with customers and consumers mean our products and services meet current and future needs. Our company-wide understanding of our business partners and consumers, coupled with the deep expertise of our people, builds trust and certainty.

Coats’ pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company continues leading the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; extending the crafts offer into new markets and online; and applying innovative techniques to develop products in new areas such as tracer threads, aramids and fibre optics.

  • One in five garments on the planet is held together using Coats’ thread
  • More than 100 million car airbags are made using Coats’ thread every year
  • Coats produces enough yarn to knit 70 million scarves a year
  • Every three hours Coats makes enough thread to go to the moon and back
  • More than 450 million pairs of shoes are made every year using Coats’ thread
  • In 1879 Thomas Edison used Coats’ thread in his experiments to invent the light bulb
  • Every week over one billion teabags are brewed using Coats’ thread
  • Coats produces enough thread to reach around the Equator every ten minutes
  • Thousands of surgical operations take place every day using Coats’ thread
  • Coats is the second largest and fastest growing global zip manufacturer