BO board cancels new share issue
Shareholders of Bank Ochrony rodowiska (BO) last Friday decided against a new share issue for the bank at an extraordinary meeting of the management board. The share issue would have increased the banks liquidity by zł. 234 million ($55.7 million) and was seen as a possible step in the direction of the banks largest shareholder, Swedens Skandinavska Emskilda Banken (SEB), taking a majority stake in the bank.
SEB believes the decision to abandon the share issue was appropriate. The bank has sufficient capital for its plans in the current economic environment. SEB will continue to give its full support to the development of BO, both as a bank specializing in environmental projects and as a commercial bank, SEB said late Friday..
There had been rumors that the banks main domestic shareholders - Narodowy Fundusz Ochrony rodowiska i Gospodarka Wodnej (NFOiGW), Dyrekcja Generalna Lasów Państwowych (DGLP), Wójewodzkich Funduszy Ochrony rodowiska (WFO), Ciech and PKN Orlen - would oppose the proposed issue of N series shares that were earmarked for them. In another share issue, SEB and three units attached would have taken O series shares.
The first attempt to issue the shares fell through in August. The then issue price was set in June at zł. 47.5 per share for the O series shares and zł. 62.5 per share for the other shares. The Securities and Exchange Commission (KPWiG) said then it was concerned about the large differences between the two values. KPWiG concluded that the N series share issue was at least zł. 2 too low, which led NFOiGW to put the issue off until now.
SEB and its units own 46 million shares in BO, or 45.99% of shares, while NFOiGW holds 44.4 million, or 44.36% of shares. Relations between the two shareholders have been cool for some time and reports suggest the Polish shareholder will not give up its position without a struggle.
