28 May 2009 07:00
28 May 2009
Acta S.p.A.
Director/PDMR Shareholding
Acta S.p.A (the "Company") announces today that options granted previously to Directors under the 2006 and 2007 Share Option Schemes have been surrendered by the Directors and will be cancelled at the next shareholders' meeting, to be held on or around 25 June 2009 (the "Shareholders' Meeting"), as detailed below:
| Name | Title | Number of options surrendered |
| Paolo Bert | Chief Executive Officer | 311,266 |
| Paul Barritt | Chief Financial Officer | 156,987 |
| Robert Drummond | Non-Executive Chairman | 60,301 |
| Fabio Mastrangelo | Non-Executive Director | 27,206 |
| Marco Casoni | Non-Executive Director | 43,072 |
The Company also announces that, following the recommendation of the Remuneration Committee, on 27 May 2009 the Board approved the following grants of options over the Ordinary Shares of the Company to the Directors pursuant to the 2009 Share Option Scheme (the "Options"). The grant of the Options is conditional upon approval by the shareholders at the Shareholders' Meeting.
The table below states the number of Options granted to the Directors under the 2009 Option Scheme, together with the total number of options available to each Director following the grant of Options, excluding those which can no longer be exercised.
| Name | Title | Number of Options granted | Total options held following grant |
| Paolo Bert | Chief Executive Officer | 600,838 | 1,659,764 |
| Paul Barritt | Chief Financial Officer | 335,129 | 473,663 |
| Robert Drummond | Non-Executive Chairman | 116,285 | 164,772 |
| Fabio Mastrangelo | Non-Executive Director | 81,880 | 123,441 |
| Marco Casoni | Non-Executive Director | 83,088 | 117,722 |
Details of the 2009 Share Option Scheme are as follows:
The exercise price of the Options is 10p per share, representing a premium of 135% over the mid-market price on 27 May 2009 of 4.25p. The Options will vest two years after the date of their approval at the Shareholders' Meeting, and may be exercised within four years of vesting.
Other conditions of vesting, exercise and expiry of the Options are as determined by the Share Option Scheme Rules approved by the shareholders on 5 September 2007.
- Ends -
For further information please contact:
| Acta S.p.A | |
| Paul Barritt, Chief Financial Officer | Tel: +39 050 644281 |
| Charles Stanley Securities | Tel: +44 (0)20 7149 6000 |
| Nominated Adviser | |
| Russell Cook / Freddy Crossley |
Notes to Editors
About Acta
Acta develops and manufactures unique patented catalysts which have been launched to the renewable energy, automotive, battery and industrial markets. Acta is also developing other commercial opportunities using its catalysts for industrial waste treatment.
Acta's catalysts and alkaline system know-how are at the heart of the Company's development of a new, high pressure water electrolyser technology which has demonstrated low cost, noble metal free, high pressure hydrogen generation. Combined with a platinum free fuel cell, the system offers a solution to the problem of how to store surplus energy produced from large scale, intermittent renewable energy sources (eg wind farms).
Acta's catalysts are also undergoing customer tests in applications such as ammonia treatment (removal of ammonia from industrial waste streams), hydrogen production by ammonia and ethanol reforming, and zinc-air batteries (a high performance and environmentally friendly battery technology), as well as fuel cell and other applications.