Ontex: Transparency Declaration Notification

Disclosure made according to the requirements of Article 14 of the law of 2 May 2007

AALST-EREMBODEGEM, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Ontex Group NV (“Ontex”) discloses the notification of significant shareholdings that it has received according to the Belgian Law of 2 May 2007 on the disclosure of significant shareholdings in listed companies.

On January 13, 2020, Bank of America Corporation notified Ontex that it holds, as a result of the acquisition of voting securities or voting rights, 4,230,954 shares in Ontex and so has crossed the threshold of 5.00% of the total number of voting rights in Ontex to 5.14%. On the same date Bank of America Corporation’s also notified Ontex that its wholly-owned subsidiary Merrill Lynch International holds, as a result of the acquisition of voting securities or voting rights, 2,489,050 shares in Ontex and so has crossed the threshold of 3.00% of the total number of voting rights in Ontex to 3.02%.

According to its obligation Ontex publishes the content of the notifications that it has received.

Date of Notification: January 13, 2020

Date Threshold Crossed: January 8, 2020

Thresholds Crossed: 3.00% and 5.00%

Notification by:

Bank of America Corporation

Wilmington, DE (United States)

Denominator on the date of notification: 82,347,218 shares

Voting rights and assimilated financial instruments:

Notification of January 13, 2020:

(A) Voting rights	Previous notification	After the transaction
	# voting rights	# voting rights		% of voting rights
Holders of voting rights		Linked to securities	Not linked to securities	Linked to securities	Not linked to securities
Bank of America Corporation	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Merrill Lynch International	0	661,978	0	0.80%	0.00%
BofA Securities Europe SA	0	5,070	0	0.01%	0.00%
BofA Securities, Inc	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation	0	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Total	0	667,048	0	0.81%	0.00%

(B) Equivalent financial instruments	After the transaction
Holders of equivalent financial instruments	Type of financial instrument	Expiration date	Exercise period or date	# of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised	% of voting rights	Settlement
BofA Securities, Inc.	Right to Recall			1,188	0.00%	physical
Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation	Rights of Use			23,308	0.03%	physical
BofA Securities Europe SA	Right to Recall			1,708,079	2.07%	physical
BofA Securities Europe SA	Rights of Use			4,259	0.01%	physical
Merrill Lynch International	Right to Recall			40,685	0.05%	physical
Merrill Lynch International	Rights of Use			1,164,231	1.41%	physical
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	30/10/2020		6,850	0.01%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	29/05/2020		20,890	0.03%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	30/04/2021		31,345	0.04%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	19/10/2020		493	0.00%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	31/01/2020		39,106	0.05%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	15/02/2023		1	0.00%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	19/10/2020		50,033	0.06%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	31/01/2020		2,459	0.00%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	17/03/2021		30,178	0.04%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	30/10/2020		4,875	0.01%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	24/01/2020		340,000	0.41%	cash
Merrill Lynch International	OTC Swaps over Basket	28/02/2020		95,926	0.12%	Cash
TOTAL				3,563,906	4.33%

	# voting rights	% of voting rights
TOTAL (A + B)	4,230,954	5.14%

Full chain of controlled undertakings through which the holding is effectively held

Merrill Lynch International, BofA Securities Europe SA, BofA Securities, Inc and Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation are controlled by "Bank of America Corporation" (see enclosure). Bank of America Corporation is not a controlled entity.

Additional information

The trigger for the notification is due to the trading book going above the 5% exemption.

Notifications of significant shareholdings to be made according to the Law of 2 May 2007 should be sent to: [e-mail]

This notification will be posted on: http://www.ontexglobal.com/press-room

About Ontex

Ontex is a leading international provider of personal hygiene solutions, with expertise in baby care, feminine care and adult care. Ontex’s innovative products are distributed in more than 110 countries through Ontex brands such as BBTips, BioBaby, Pompom, Bigfral, Canbebe, Canped, ID and Serenity, as well as leading retailer brands.

Employing 11,000 passionate people all over the world, Ontex has a presence in 21 countries, with its headquarters in Aalst, Belgium. Ontex is part of the Bel20 and STOXX® Europe 600.

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