Ann: Appendix 3Y-Daniel Tillett, page-19

I highly doubt any of the options issued yesterday will be converted early putting money in the coffers. RAC won't need the funds prior to a deal being made - partnership or buy out.

@Boffin99 - I understand that the CGT discount clock starts from option conversion, and with listed options you treat them the same as FPO if trading. However, I've never experienced what happens if someone holds unlisted options when a company is taken over. Would the options be included in the buy out and therefore if not converted would receive the CGT discount if they have held for longer than 12 months? Or would they need to convert the unlisted options to FPO to be included in the buyout? Ie, is buy out only for SOI or also includes unlisted options?

If unlisted options are included in the buy out then I can't see why the holder would convert early. If the holder has the cash, then there would be the obvious CGT benefit in converting as soon as possible given it was stated yesterday that second half of 2021 is when we can expect serious partnership talks. If the holder doesn't have the cash, and only FPO are included in a buy out then I would expect to first see the offer made to market which will push the share price up close to offer price, and then all options will most likely get converted at a cashless conversion (which at least reduces the dilution).