OREANDA-NEWS. April 06, 2011. AB Bank SNORAS, presently distributing a new emission of shares of LTL 380,083 million nominal value, has found a new institutional investor – the alternative investment fund “JFP Emerging Europe Momentum Fund”, reported the press-centre of Bank SNORAS.

The main shareholders of Bank SNORAS – Vladimir Antonov and Raimondas Baranauskas have transferred a part of the available share subscription rights to the alternative investment fund “JFP Emerging Europe Momentum Fund” managed by the British company “Jubilee Financial Products” which is supervised and regulated by  Financial Services Authority – the institution supervising the financial services market in this country.   According to the agreement signed on 18 March, the main shareholders of Bank SNORAS transferred 80,021 million units of share subscription rights to the investment fund.

“The good indicators of Bank SNORAS activity – the profitable business, the ever-growing share of the occupied market – were noticed by foreign investors as well.  Once the new institutional investor has appeared, the number of the bank's free shares increases on the market; therefore, we trust that both institutional and private investors from Lithuania and abroad will show even greater interest,” – says Raimondas Baranauskas, the President of Bank SNORAS.

According to his statement, the bank, after successfully distributing the new emission of shares of LTL 380,083 million nominal value, will attract capital for covering the expansion and activity risk and will also become the third bank in Lithuania according to the size of the authorized capital.  

V. Antonov, who presently manages 68.1 per cent of Bank SNORAS authorized capital, has transferred 58,338 million units of share subscription rights to the new investor, while Mr. Baranauskas (who manages 25.31 per cent of the authorized capital of the bank) – 21,683 million units of these rights.   After successfully distributing the entire new emission, the share of the main shareholders of Bank SNORAS in the authorized capital would amount up to 61.27 and 22.77 per cent respectively.

On 21 December 2010, during the meeting of Bank SNORAS shareholders, it was decided to increase the authorized capital of the bank by additional instalments of the shareholders by LTL 380,083 million, up to LTL 854,3 million, and to distribute the new shares, in proportion to the available number of the shares, by the nominal value per share – LTL 1 (EUR 0.29) to the persons who were the bank's shareholders on 5 January this year.   Upon the permission of the Bank of Lithuania, V. Antonov and R. Baranauskas – the main shareholders of Bank SNORAS – will be able exchange the loans previously granted to the bank and the available non-negotiable securities (the total of LTL 193,357 million) to the new emission shares. 

According to Bank SNORAS new share emission prospectus approved by the Securities Commission, an owner of the registered ordinary shares of the bank received 0.8015 share subscription right for one share which he had on 5 January 2011. One share subscription right entitled to acquire one new emission share for the emission price (EUR 0.29 or LTL 1) or to transfer this right to other persons still in the first stage of distributing the new shares (at the latest before 18 March inclusive).

It is the second time already when Bank SNORAS issues share subscription rights. They were issued for the first time in 2007.

The distribution of Bank SNORAS new shares is carried out in three stages. In the first stage, which took place on March 9-23, the newly issuable shares could be acquired by the owners of the registered ordinary shares of the bank.  The Bank will announce about the number of the shares, which remained after the expiration of the first distribution stage, on March 28.

The second stage of distributing Bank SNORAS new shares will begin on March 29 and will end on April 11; the owners of preferred shares will be able to acquire the shares during this period. In the third stage (April 18-20), all other participants of the market will be able to acquire the new shares of the bank.

If not all shares are subscribed within the established period of time, the authorized capital of the bank would be increased by the sum of the nominal values of the subscribed shares. After successfully distributing the entire new emission of shares of LTL 380,083 million nominal value, Bank SNORAS would be among the first three leading banks in Lithuania according to the size of the authorized capital.

Since 24 November 2010 Bank SNORAS shares have been included in the Official Trading List of NASDAQ OMX Vilnius Stock Exchange.