LONDON ( Alliance News) - Ruspetro PLC shares dropped on Friday after it said Sobny Group Corp, a company which recently acquired a stake in Ruspetro, will have to reduce its shareholding or make a general offer for the company under takeover and merger rules.
Ruspetro shares were down 9.1% to 10.57 pence per share on Friday morning.
On February 6, Sobny said it purchased 76.7 million shares in Ruspetro at an undisclosed price to acquire an 8.8% stake.
Ruspetro said Sobny is an associate of its principal lender and largest creditor Russia's Bank Otkritie Financial Corp and said Bank Otkritie and its associates are deemed to be acting in concert with Mastin Holdings Ltd, which holds a 24.99% stake in Ruspetro.
Therefore, the "concert party", which consists of Mastin, Otkritie, Sobny and Dignus Ltd, which is working with Sobny, will hold 294.1 million shares and hold a collective 33.8% stake in Ruspetro.
Under takeover and merger rules, any parties or collective parties that hold between a 30% and 49.9% stake in a company are required to make a general offer for the company. However if it disposes of sufficient shares to bring its stake below 30% in a limited time period, it isn't required to do so.
The Panel on Takeover and Mergers, which supervises and regulates UK takeovers, has ruled none of the concert party are required to make a general offer for Ruspetro, but has ruled that the collective party needs to reduce is collective holding in the company.
Ruspetro said either Sobny or Dignus, as they pushed the holding over the 30% mark, will be required to dispose of shares to lower the collective holding of the party to below 30%.
Ruspetro said that Sobny, Mastin, Dignus and Otkritie have all agreed to disclosure of the ruling by the panel.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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