GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH) reported yesterday that Founder and Chairman Geoffrey Guy has sold about 100K shares, with the majority of the sales taking place on Friday, December 18th. The gross proceeds represent about $6.7mm. Dr. Guy sold after exercising approximately 1.37mm options on Ordinary Shares and converting them (for a cost of approximately $835K). Each GWPH American Depository Share (ADS) represents 12 Ordinary Shares, which trade in the U.K. Dr. Guy’s sale reduced his ownership in the company by less than 10% to 5.4%. Guy has also recently gifted 620K Ordinary Shares to a medical charity and family members.
21 December 2015
GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (“GW Pharmaceuticals” or the “Company”)
NOTIFICATION OF INTERESTS OF DIRECTORS AND CONNECTED PERSONS
Cambridge, UK, 21 December 2015: GW Pharmaceuticals (AIM: GWP, NASDAQ:GWPH) hereby provides notification that the Company has been notified of the following series of transactions in the shares of GW Pharmaceuticals plc.
On 18 December 2015 the Company was notified that on 17 December 2015 Mr Cabot Brown, a non-executive Director of the Company, purchased 600 American Depository Shares, or ADS (equivalent to 7,200 ordinary 0.1 pence shares) of GW Pharmaceuticals plc, at a price of $68.864 per ADS (equivalent to 384 pence per share).
Following this notification Mr Brown’s interest in the shares of GW Pharmaceuticals plc is 7,200 ordinary 0.1 pence shares (equivalent to 600 ADSs), representing less than 0.1% of the Company’s current issued share capital.
On 18 December 2015 Mr. Chris Tovey, a Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, exercised options to acquire 24,000 ordinary 0.1 pence shares (equivalent to 2,000 ADSs) of GW Pharmaceuticals plc. These options had an exercise price of 0.1 pence per share. The Company has been notified that on 18 December 2015 these shares, representing less than 0.1% of shares in issue, were converted to 2,000 ADSs and immediately sold at an average price of $67.6275 per ADS (equivalent to 378 pence per share).
Following these transactions, Mr. Tovey’s beneficial interested in the Company’s ordinary 0.1 pence shares is 2,500 shares, representing less than 0.1% of the Company’s current issued share capital.
On 18 December 2015 Dr. Geoffrey Guy, a Director and Chairman of the Company, exercised options to acquire 1,369,848 ordinary 0.1 pence shares (equivalent to 114,154 ADSs) of GW Pharmaceuticals plc. These options had a weighted average exercise price of 41 pence per ordinary 0.1 pence share. The Company has been notified that (1) on 18 December 2015, 1,065,936 of these shares were converted to 88,828 ADSs and immediately sold at an average price of $67.50 per ADS (equivalent to 377 pence per share) and (2) earlier today a further 10,309 ADSs (equivalent to 123,708 ordinary 0.1 pence shares) were sold at an average price of $67.32 per ADS (equivalent to 376 pence per share). Exercise of these options results in an immediate UK income tax liability for Dr. Guy necessitating the immediate sale of a significant number of the resulting shares. In addition, we have been notified that earlier today 6,000 ordinary 0.1 pence shares held by Dr Guy’s personal pension scheme were sold at an average price of 366 pence per share.
Following these transactions, Dr. Guy’s notifiable interest in the ordinary 0.1 pence shares of the Company has increased by 174,204 shares to 14,297,852 shares, representing 5.4% of the Company’s current issued share capital.
The total number of shares outstanding in the Company is 262,574,021 ordinary 0.1 pence shares.
