Smart gets operating control over Forum Bank

At their November 5 EGM, Forum Bank (FORM UK) shareholders re-elected the company’s supervisory board and audit committee to benefit the new majority shareholder, Smart Holding. Smart announced it completed its acquisition of a 96.06% stake in the bank on October 30.

Alexander Paraschiy: The EGM participants failed to clarify the most important questions for the minorities: when Smart Holding will offer a share buyback and how much will it pay. We expect the offer will be made on time – within a 20-day timeframe following the deal’s close (i.e. by November 19). We have much less clarity regarding the possible offer price – the law just says it should be “market price,” but does not stipulate the date of reference to the market. We therefore take UAH 0.435/share (market price as of October 29) as a base-case scenario, and will treat any premium as a positive surprise.