REG - Pearson PLC - Announcement of share repurchase programme

PearsonAnnouncement

18/03/2025 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250318:nRSR0241Ba&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 0241B  Pearson PLC  18 March 2025

18 March 2025
Pearson plc

 

Announcement of share repurchase programme

 

Further to its announcement on 28 February 2025 at its Preliminary Results,
Pearson plc (the Company) announces that it is to commence the first tranche
of its £350 million share buyback programme (the Programme). The first
tranche of the Programme will be in the sum of £175 million and will commence
today, 18 March 2025, and is anticipated to end on or before 18 August 2025
(the Engagement Period). Purchases may continue during any closed periods of
the Company during the Engagement Period.

 

The Company has entered into an engagement with Morgan Stanley & Co.
International plc (the Bank) under which it has issued a non-discretionary
irrevocable instruction to the Bank to manage the first tranche of the
Programme. The Bank will carry out the instruction through the acquisition of
ordinary shares in the Company for subsequent repurchase by the Company. The
Bank will make trading decisions in relation to the Company's ordinary shares
repurchased under the first tranche of the Programme independently of, and
uninfluenced by, the Company.

 

Any acquisitions of its ordinary shares by the Company will be effected within
certain pre-set parameters set out in the Bank's engagement letter, and in
accordance with the Company's AGM authority to repurchase ordinary shares (at
the AGM on 26 April 2024, shareholders gave the Company authority to purchase
a maximum of 68,659,005 ordinary shares), Chapter 9 of the Financial Conduct
Authority's UK Listing Rules and the provisions of the Market Abuse Regulation
596/2014/EU (as it forms part of UK law pursuant to the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended) and will be discontinued in the event that
the Company ceases to have the necessary general authority to repurchase
ordinary shares.

 

The Company intends to enter into arrangements to commence a second tranche of
the Programme in the sum of £175 million in due course.

 

The sole purpose of the Programme is to reduce the capital of the Company. As
such, the Company will cancel any ordinary shares purchased.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, no repurchases will be made in respect of the
Company's American Depositary Receipts.

 

The Bank may undertake transactions in the Company's ordinary shares during
the Engagement Period in order to manage its market exposure under the first
tranche of the Programme.

 

Contacts

 

 Investor Relations  Alex Shore          +44 (0) 7720 947 853
                       Steph Crinnegan   +44 (0) 7780 555 351
                     Gemma Terry         +44 (0) 7841 363 216
                     Brennan Matthews    +1 (332) 238-8785
 Teneo               Ed Cropley          +44 (0) 7492 949 346

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCSFUEFWEISELD