STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 21, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Following the decision by the Lithuanian State Property Fund in March this year to select OMHEX as the strategic partner for the ownership of the National Stock Exchange of Lithuania (NSEL), and the Central Securities Depository of Lithuania (CSDL), the parties today signed the privatization agreement for 44.3 percent of the shares of NSEL and 32 percent of the shares of CSDL. The purchase price is EUR 1.45 million for the shares of NSEL, and EUR 1.69 million for the shares of CSDL. OMHEX is also in the process of acquiring an additional 10 percent of NSEL shares from minority shareholders that have decided to sell their shares together with the State Property Fund. Together with the earlier acquired NSEL shares, OMHEX' ownership in NSEL will exceed 80 percent. A mandatory tender offer to the remaining minority shareholders of NSEL will be launched in June, as OMHEX intends to acquire up to 100 percent of the shares of NSEL.
"Once again, we would like to welcome NSEL and CSDL to the OMHEX family. We hope to move ahead quickly with the integration of the NSEL and CSDL in order to deliver benefits to the Lithuanian securities market participants," said Jukka Ruuska, deputy CEO of OMHEX and head of the HEX Integrated Markets division.
About OMHEX
OMHEX is a leading provider of marketplace services and solutions that help customers achieve efficient securities transactions. Within the HEX Integrated Markets division, OMHEX operates Northern Europe's largest securities market. Its exchange operations within Stockholmsborsen, HEX Helsinki, HEX Tallinn and HEX Riga offer investors access to 80 percent of the Nordic and Baltic equity market. HEX Integrated Markets also operates central securities depositories in Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Through the OM Technology division, OMHEX is a world-leading provider of transaction technology, processing and outsourcing solutions to financial markets around the world.
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