23 Dec 2010 10:22
ANNOUNCEMENT
IRF European Finance Investments Ltd
('IRF' or the 'Company')
Announces its
Agreement to Issue
New Shares in the Company
23 December 2010
IRF today announces that it has agreed to issue 12,483,239 common shares (the "IRF Shares") in exchange for 12,233,420 outstanding shares in Marfin Investment Group ("MIG"), a company listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. Application has been made for the newly issued IRF Shares to be admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Market of the London Stock Exchange.
The MIG shares being transferred to the Company have been valued based on the closing price of such shares on the Athens Stock Exchange as of 20 December 2010. The deemed issue price of the IRF Shares is US$0.95 per share, representing a discount of approximately 9.5% to IRF's current bid price.
The IRF directors believe that the proposed transaction will be beneficial for the Company due to IRF being able to increase its investment in MIG, a key investment for IRF, at a cost significantly below MIG's announced NAV as well as increasing equity on IRF's balance sheet.
The IRF Shares are expected to be admitted to trading at 0800 hours on 29 December 2010 subject to the application hearing to be held on 24 December 2010. Pursuant to the issue of new IRF Shares, Amadeus Maritime S.A., an entity controlled by Ms Angeliki Frangou, IRF's chairman, will receive 4,659,730 IRF Shares in exchange for the transfer of 4,566,477 MIG shares.
Once issued, the IRF Shares will rank pari passu with the existing common shares of the Company.
Immediately following the issue, IRF's issued share capital will comprise 137,315,633 shares of US$0.0015 par value each classified as common shares.
IRF currently holds approximately 12% of the issued shares in MIG. Following completion of this transaction, IRF will own approximately 13.6% of the issued shares in MIG.
For further information:
IRF European Finance Investments Ltd
Angeliki Frangou, Chairperson Tel: +30 210 428 0560
Sheldon Goldman, Deputy Chairman Tel: +1 212 404 5740
About IRF
IRF's principal investment strategy is to seek investment opportunities in global financial institutions, with a complementary focus on investments in distressed opportunities in other industries. On 19 January 2009 IRF commenced trading on the SFM (Specialist Fund Market), operated by the London Stock Exchange plc. The Company's registered office is at Canon's Court 22 Victoria Street, Hamilton HM12, Bermuda.
Forward-looking statements
All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. IRF assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update the information contained herein except as required by law.