Majority owners of Ukraine's Ovostar buy back 0.934% of shares, confirm imminent squeeze-out
MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax) - The majority shareholders of Ukraine agribusiness group Ovostar Union - company CEO Boris Belikov, board chairman Vitaly Veresenko and Fairfax Financial Holding, who together owned 95.45% of shares, have acquired another 0.934% from minority shareholders in a tender offer buy the remaining 4.55%.
"After the Tender Offer, the Offerors hold jointly 5,782,961 shares in the Company, representing a total of 96.383% shares of the Company and conferring a total of 96.383% of the votes at the General Meeting of the Company," Ukrainian media reported Ovostar as saying in a statement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The majority shareholders bought 56,027 shares at the announced price of PLN70 (about $17.50) per share.
"The Offerors intend to exercise the Squeeze Out right [...] in order to acquire 100% of the shares of the Company at the price of PLN 70 per share. The right may be exercised within three months from the completion of the Tender Offer acceptance period, i.e. from 24 June 2024 and the Offerors intend to exercise this right the soonest possible," Ovostar said.
When the tender offer was announced in late May, it was reported that Veresenko and Belikov, who together owned 65.93% of Ovostar at the time, Fairfax Financial Holding were prepared to buy out all shares held by minority shareholders. However, Belikov and Veresenko intended to only buy up to 13,653 shares (0.23%), while Fairfax, through U.S.-based Allied World National Assurance Co., planned to buy 259,413 shares (4.32%).
In the tender offer, Belikov and Veresenko bought 2,801 shares or about 0.05% through Cyprus-based Prime One Capital Limited.
Ovostar is a vertically integrated agribusiness that is one of Ukraine's largest producers of eggs and egg products. The group's net profit soared 640% to $45 million and EBITDA jumped 350% to $50.4 million in 2023 on revenue up 20% to $162.5 million.
The group's holding company, Ovostar Union N.V. raised $33.2 million in an IPO on the WSE in June 2011, selling 25% of its shares at PLN62 ($22.78 at the exchange rate at the time) per share.
Another Ukrainian agribusiness group, Kernel and its principal shareholder and board chairman Andrei Verevsky announced plans to delist from the WSE in 2023, but he has not yet managed to accumulate 95% of shares. The process has been drawn out by opposition from minority shareholders, including through the courts.