Nyzhnyodniprovsky Pipe’s (NITR: U/R) supervisory board has decided to buyout 3.93 mln of the company’s shares (7.29% of the company’s charter fund). The buyback price will be UAH 206 (USD 40.79) per share. NITR shareholders will be able to sell their shares from September 13 to September 19, with final settlement to be reached by July 22, 2008. Eugene Cherviachenko: Apparently, Interpipe wants to soak up all the free float on the market in its preparations for an upcoming IPO. Currently NITR trades at UAH 220.74 (USD 43.71) per share, a 7.1% premium to the price of the buyout. We believe there is still a possibility that the market will ignore the offer, as we saw with Raiffeisen Bank Aval in 2005. As a result, the company may consider raising the price of the buyout. Our target and recommendation remain under review. We will be following news closely.