REGULATED INFORMATION
GHENT, Belgium, 19 April 2018 - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels and Nasdaq: ABLX] today announced, in accordance with Article 14 of the Belgian Law of 2 May 2007 regarding the publication of major shareholdings in issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market (the "Transparency Law"), that it received a notification of shareholdings from Bank of America Corporation on 16 April 2018.
Bank of America Corporation (taking into account the holdings of its subsidiary undertakings) notified Ablynx that it has downward crossed the 3% threshold of total voting rights of Ablynx since 10 April 2018.
The notification contains the following information:
- Reason for the notification :
- acquisition or disposal of financial instruments that are treated as voting securities
- downward crossing of the lowest threshold
- Notification by : a parent undertaking or a controlling person
- Persons subject to the notification requirement : Bank of America Corporation, Wilmington, DE, USA
- Date on which threshold is crossed : 10 April 2018
- Threshold that is crossed : 3%
- Denominator : 75,253,667
- Details of the notification : no details required when crossing the lowest threshold
- Chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively being held : Bank of America, National Association, Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation and Merrill Lynch Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated are controlled by Bank of America Corporation. Bank of America Corporation is not a controlled entity.
More information is provided in the transparency notification. Full versions of the transparency notifications are available on Ablynx website, under the section Investors .
The Articles of the Association of Ablynx NV provide for shareholders notification threshold of 3%, 5% or a multiple of 5% of the total number of existing voting rights.
About Ablynx
Ablynx is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of Nanobodies , proprietary therapeutic proteins based on single-domain antibody fragments, which combine the advantages of conventional antibody drugs with some of the features of small-molecule drugs. Ablynx is dedicated to creating new medicines which will make a real difference to society. Today, the Company has more than 45 proprietary and partnered programmes in development in various therapeutic areas including inflammation, haematology, immuno-oncology, oncology and respiratory disease. The Company has collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical companies including AbbVie; Boehringer Ingelheim; Eddingpharm; Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA; Merck KGaA; Novo Nordisk; Sanofi and Taisho Pharmaceuticals. The Company is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. More information can be found on www.ablynx.com .
On 29 January 2018, Sanofi made an offer to acquire all of Ablynx's outstanding ordinary shares (including shares represented by American Depository Shares (ADSs), warrants and convertible bonds) at a price of €45 per share, which represents an aggregate equity value of approximately €3.9 billion. The proposed transaction was unanimously approved by both the Sanofi and Ablynx Board of Directors. The initial tender offer commenced on 4 April 2018 and will expire on 4 May 2018, subject to extension. Sanofi has published an offer document in which it set out the full details of its tender offer, and the Board of Directors of Ablynx published a response memorandum ('memorie van antwoord'), in which it set out its position on the tender offer.
For more information, please contact Ablynx: Dr Edwin Moses CEO t: +32 (0)9 262 00 07 m: +32 (0)473 39 50 68 e: edwin.moses@ablynx.com
Lies Vanneste Director Investor Relations t: +32 (0)9 262 01 37 m: +32 (0)498 05 35 79 e: lies.vanneste@ablynx.com
Follow us on Twitter @AblynxABLX
Ablynx media relations: Consilium Strategic Communications Mary-Jane Elliott, Philippa Gardner, Sukaina Virji t: +44 (0)20 3709 5700 e: ablynx@consilium-comms.com
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher Dan Katcher or Joseph Sala t: +1 212-355-4449
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