Some RTS shareholders ready to sell their stakes - Ulyukayev
MOSCOW. Nov 18 (Interfax) - Some of the shareholders in the RTS Stock Exchange have said they are ready to discuss the sale of their stakes in the company, Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev, who is the board chairman of CJSC MICEX, which plans a merger with RTS, told journalists.
"I laid out my position [concerning the merger] in a letter to RTS shareholders. I made them an offer - what is called an amicable take over," he said. Not all shareholders responded, but those that have say they are ready to begin negotiations on sale of their shares.
"Shareholders are not just interested in the current price, but in the synergies, the future development of the business," he said.
It was reported earlier that leading shareholders in RTS are Troika Dialog (10%), KIT Finance (10%), Alfa Bank (9.6%), Aton (9.8%), Deutsche Securities (9%), Renaissance Broker (8.2%), and nominal owners ING and Citibank (11.4% and 5.5% respectively). Investment funds Da Vinci Capital and Artio also have stakes.
The MICEX group sent the main RTS shareholders an offer to purchase their shares based on an appraisal valuing the company at $750 million, market participants told Interfax last week.
Under the offer, the RTS shareholders would receive 20% in cash and the rest in MICEX stock.
RTS' market capitalization was about $656 million last week, based on RTS Board quotations. However, the shareholders believe MICEX's offer undervalues the company by 50%.
RTS$#&: ALFB, CITB, TROY