Canada's Fairfax increases share in Ukraine's Ovostar to 27.5%
MOSCOW. Sept 21 (Interfax) - Canadian financial company Fairfax Financial Holdings increased its stake in the Ukrainian agricultural holding Ovostar (Ovostar Union) to 27.51% from 17.499%, Ukrainian media reported, citing an Ovostar announcement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The deal was completed on September 13. As a result, Fairfax's stake increased to 1,650,888 shares from 1,049,942 shares.
Ovostar also reported that the Generali Otwarty Fundusz Emerytalny (OFE) pension fund under the management of Generali Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytlane S.A., which owned 10.93%, or 655,909 shares of the agricultural holding, dropped out as a shareholder.
Following the announcement of the deals on Thursday, Ovostar shares were quoted at 60.5 Polish zloty per share ($13.94 at current rates) on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. At the close of trading on September 13, the price of one share was 52 zloty.
As reported, on June 30, 2023, Fairfax increased its stake in Ovostar to 17.499% from 10.39%. In turn, the Allianz OFE pension fund, which owned 311,443 shares, announced a transaction for the sale of 5.19% of the shares of the Ukrainian holding.
Ovostar is a vertically integrated group, one of the leading producers of chicken eggs and egg products in Ukraine. The group's holding company is Ovostar Union N.V. In June 2011, it conducted an IPO of 25% of its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and raised $33.05 million. Six million shares are outstanding.
Ovostar in H1 2023 posted a $20.63 million in net profit against a $19.78 million net loss for the same period in 2022. Revenue increased 56.8% to $88.69 million, mainly due to increased prices for the company's products.
Ovostar ended 2022 with $6.09 million in net profit, 3.7 times more than in 2021. Revenues increased 1.7% to $135.63 million.
According to the Ovostar report, at the end of March 2023 its majority shareholder was Prime One Capital Limited with 67.93%, controlled by General Director Boris Belikov and Chairman of the Board of Directors Vitaly Veresenko.