26.08.2022
Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) Chairman George Theocharides said on Thursday that the commission is closely following non-binding takeover bids submitted by private equity firm Lone Star to Bank of Cyprus.
The Commission also consults with both the Bank of Cyprus and the relevant supervisory authority in Ireland, the Irish Takeovers Commission.
“The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission is closely monitoring whether the provisions of the relevant takeover law are being followed,” Theocharides said.
“CySEC is consulting both the Bank of Cyprus and the relevant supervisory authority in Ireland, the Irish Takeover Commission, the country in which the Bank of Cyprus is registered, to ensure that the legal provisions of both Cyprus and Ireland are complied with . dear , ” he added.
Moreover, the chairman of CySEC stated that some issues fall under the jurisdiction of the commission, while others fall under the jurisdiction of the Irish Takeover Panel. This, he explained, needs to be clarified in the future.
On August 19, the Bank of Cyprus stated that it had received and unanimously rejected “unconditionally” three unsolicited, conditional, non-binding offers from Lone Star relating to a possible cash offer for all of the issued and issuable share capital of the company.
The bank’s announcement at the time added that Lone Star offered the bank €1.51 (US$1.51) per share.
This follows two previous proposals made by a private equity firm. The first offer, made on May 5, 2022, offered €1.25 per share, which the Board of Directors of the Bank of Cyprus rejected on May 20 after a period of careful deliberation with its financial advisers and advisers.
The second offer came on May 25, 2022, when Lone Star offered €1.38 per share, which the bank’s board of directors unanimously rejected on June 3, 2022.
After the rejection of the second offer, on June 16, 2022, Lone Star again approached the bank to discuss issues regarding the second offer.
It was reported that the financial terms negotiated on June 16, 2022 remained unchanged from those presented in Lone Star’s second offer, prompting the bank to reject that request on June 29, 2022.
The third offer was received on July 8, 2022 at the aforementioned price of EUR 1.51 per share prior to its rejection on July 22, 2022.
The third proposal was reportedly rejected by the board of directors unanimously because it undervalues the bank both now and in terms of its future prospects.
It was considered that the proposal was not in the interests of either the bank or its shareholders.
“In addition to fundamentally underestimating the company and its future prospects, the board of directors believes that the Lone Star proposal does not adequately address the complexities of completing the acquisition of Bank of Cyprus, given its strategic importance to Cyprus,” Bank of Cyprus said in a statement. the board of directors said at the time.
At the same time, a source at Senvest Management LLC told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the company recognizes the progress made in Bank of Cyprus and has therefore acquired additional shares.
This week, Senvest Management began acquiring another million shares of Bank of Cyprus, bringing its total shareholding to 7.79% from the previous figure of 7.11%.
The latest acquisition of Senvest Management shares follows two previous acquisitions earlier this summer, bringing the total number of shares acquired between June and August to approximately 3 million.
Senvest Management is the third largest shareholder of the Bank of Cyprus after Lamesa Investments Limited with 9.27% and Carval Investors with 8.75%.
“In recent months, Senvest has been increasing its shareholding in the Bank of Cyprus, seeing the progress made in the Bank of Cyprus and the very good prospects that opened up after the normalization of the bank ‘s conditions . non – performing loans, as well as profitability prospects, which are helped by both the reduction in NPLs and the increase in the interest rate by the European Central Bank, ”the source told the agency.
“The latest purchase, made in August, shows Senvest’s support for the management of Bank of Cyprus and its actions,” the source concluded.
