Important Notice Not for Distribution to Any U.S. Person Or to Any Person Or Address in the U.S
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IMPORTANT NOTICE NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ANY U.S. PERSON OR TO ANY PERSON OR ADDRESS IN THE U.S. IMPORTANT: You must read the following before continuing. The following applies to the Prospectus following this page, and you are therefore advised to read this carefully before reading, accessing or making any other use of the Prospectus. In accessing the Prospectus, you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions, including any modifications to them any time you receive any information as a result of such access. NOTHING IN THIS ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION CONSTITUTES AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE IN THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DO SO. THE BONDS DESCRIBED HEREIN HAVE NOT BEEN, AND WILL NOT BE, REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE ‘‘SECURITIES ACT’’), OR THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE OF THE U.S. OR OTHER JURISDICTION AND THE BONDS DESCRIBED HEREIN MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD WITHIN THE U.S. OR TO, OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF, U.S. PERSONS (AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT), EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE OR LOCAL SECURITIES LAWS. THE FOLLOWING PROSPECTUS MAY NOT BE FORWARDED OR DISTRIBUTED TO ANY OTHER PERSON AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY MANNER WHATSOEVER, AND IN PARTICULAR, MAY NOT BE FORWARDED TO ANY U.S. PERSON OR TO ANY U.S. ADDRESS. ANY FORWARDING, DISTRIBUTION OR REPRODUCTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IN WHOLE OR IN PART IS UNAUTHORISED. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS DIRECTIVE MAY RESULT IN A VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES ACT OR THE APPLICABLE LAWS OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS. Confirmation of your Representation: In order to be eligible to view the Prospectus or make an investment decision with respect to the Bonds described herein, investors must not be a U.S. person (within the meaning of Regulation S under the Securities Act). The Prospectus is being sent at your request and by accepting the e-mail and accessing the Prospectus, you shall be deemed to have represented to Barclays Bank PLC, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Bayerische Landesbank, Fortis Bank SA/NV, HSBC Bank plc, J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd., Merrill Lynch International and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International plc (together, the ‘‘Managers’’) that you are not a U.S. person, your stated electronic mail address to which this e-mail has been delivered is not located in the U.S. and that you consent to delivery of such Prospectus by electronic transmission. You are reminded that the Prospectus has been delivered to you on the basis that you are a person into whose possession the Prospectus may be lawfully delivered in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which you are located and you may not, nor are you authorised to, deliver the Prospectus to any other person. The materials relating to the issue of the Bonds described herein do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. If a jurisdiction requires that the issue of the Bonds described herein be made by a licensed broker or dealer and the underwriters or any affiliate of the underwriters is a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the issue of the Bonds described herein shall be deemed to be made by the underwriters or such affiliate on behalf of the Issuer in such jurisdiction. The Prospectus has been sent to you in electronic format. You are reminded that documents transmitted via this medium may be altered or changed during the process of electronic transmission and consequently none of the Managers, nor any person who controls them nor any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates accepts any liability or responsibility whatsoever in respect of any difference between the Prospectus distributed to you in electronic format and the hard copy version available to you on request from any Manager. Prospectus dated 16 September 2009 FirstGroup plc (Incorporated in Scotland under the Companies Act 1985 with Registered no. SC157176) £200,000,000 6.875 per cent. Bonds due 2024 Issue price: 99.893 per cent. The £200,000,000 6.875 per cent. Bonds due 2024 (the “Bonds”) are issued by FirstGroup plc (the “Issuer” or “FirstGroup”). Application has been made to the Financial Services Authority in its capacity as competent authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the “UK Listing Authority” and the “FSMA” respectively) for the Bonds to be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority (the “Official List”) and to the London Stock Exchange plc (the “London Stock Exchange”) for the Bonds to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Regulated Market. The London Stock Exchange’s Regulated Market is a regulated market for the purposes of Directive 2004/39/EC (the “Markets in Financial Instruments Directive”). This document comprises a prospectus for the purpose of Article 3 of Directive 2003/71/EC (the “Prospectus Directive”). Interest on the Bonds will, subject to “Terms and Conditions of the Bonds – Interest”, be payable from (and including) 18 September 2009 at the rate of 6.875 per cent. per annum payable annually in arrear on 18 September in each year. The Bonds will mature on 18 September 2024 and are subject to redemption or repurchase at the option of the Issuer, as further described under “Terms and Conditions of the Bonds – Redemption or repurchase at the option of the Issuer”. Also, the Issuer may purchase or redeem all (but not some only) of the Bonds at their principal amount together with interest accrued to the date of such purchase or, as the case may be, redemption, in the event of certain tax changes as described under “Terms and Conditions of the Bonds – Redemption or repurchase for tax reasons”. The Bonds are also subject to redemption at the option of the holders of the Bonds (the “Bondholders”), as further described under “Terms and Conditions of the Bonds – Redemption at the Option of the Bondholders upon a Change of Control Event”. The Bonds will be issued on 18 September 2009 (the “Issue Date”) and will initially be represented by a temporary global bond (the “Temporary Global Bond”), without interest coupons which will be issued in the new global note (“NGN”) form. The Temporary Global Bond will be deposited with a common safekeeper (the “Common Safekeeper”) for Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V. (“Euroclear”) and Clearstream Banking, société anonyme (“Clearstream, Luxembourg”) on or about 18 September 2009. Interests in the Temporary Global Bond will be exchangeable for interests in a permanent global bond (the “Permanent Global Bond” and, together with the Temporary Global Bond, the “Global Bonds”), without interest coupons, on or after 28 October 2009, upon certification as to non-U.S. beneficial ownership. The Permanent Global Bond will be exchangeable for definitive Bonds in bearer form, with interest coupons attached, in certain limited circumstances – see “Summary of Provisions relating to the Bonds while in Global Form”. All investment in the Bonds involves certain risks. Prospective investors should have regard to the factors described under the section headed “Risk Factors” in this Prospectus. This Prospectus does not describe all of the risks of an investment in the Bonds. The Bonds are expected, on issue, to be rated BBB- and BBB by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. and Fitch Ratings Ltd. respectively. A credit rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities and may be subject to revision, suspension or withdrawal at any time by the relevant rating organisation. Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners BARCLAYS CAPITAL THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND Co-Lead Managers BAYERNLB BofA FORTIS HSBC J.P. MORGAN MITSUBISHI UFJ MERRILL BANK SECURITIES LYNCH NV/SA INTERNATIONAL PLC Each of (i) the Issuer and (ii) First Student, Inc., First Transit, Inc., Greyhound Lines, Inc. and First West Yorkshire Limited (the “Guarantors”) accepts responsibility for the information contained in this Prospectus. To the best of the knowledge of the Issuer and the Guarantors (having taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case) the information contained in this Prospectus is in accordance with the facts and does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information. This Prospectus is to be read in conjunction with all documents which are incorporated herein by reference (see “Documents Incorporated by Reference” below) and shall be read and construed on the basis that such documents are incorporated in and form part of this Prospectus. No person is or has been authorised to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained in or consistent with this Prospectus in connection with the issue or sale of the Bonds and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorised by or on behalf of the Issuer, any of the Guarantors, any of the Managers (as defined in “Subscription and Sale” below) or the Trustee. Neither the delivery of this Prospectus nor any sale made in connection herewith shall, under any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Issuer, FirstGroup America, Inc. (formerly First PTS, Inc.) (“FirstGroup America”) or any of the Guarantors since the date hereof or that there has been no adverse change in the financial position of the Issuer, FirstGroup America or any of the Guarantors since the date hereof or that any other information supplied in connection with the Bonds is correct as of any time subsequent to the date on which it is supplied or, if different, the date indicated in the document containing the same.