Lokalbanken's company announcement No. 24/2008 15 October 2008
Handelsbanken completes acquisition of Lokalbanken
Handelsbanken is now completing the acquisition of Lokalbanken after the
shareholders have accepted the tender offer. The tender offer, which was
voluntary, was unanimously recommended by the Board of Directors and the
Committee of Shareholders of Lokalbanken. The offer price was DKK 300 per share
with a nominal value of DKK 20, and the offer expired on Monday, 13 October
2008 at 8:00 pm.
Upon expiry of the offer period, Handelsbanken held or had received valid
acceptances in respect of the tender offer for a total of 2,466,935 Lokalbanken
shares. This corresponds to 97.7% of the shares in Lokalbanken currently
outstanding, which Handelsbanken considers fully satisfactory.
As a result, Handelsbanken has resolved to complete the tender offer in
accordance with its terms and conditions with settlement and payment to the
shareholders who have accepted the tender offer expected to take place on
Monday, 20 October 2008.
Handelsbanken will as soon as possible initiate compulsory redemption of the
outstanding shares pursuant to the rules of the Danish Public Companies Act and
will in this connection apply to have the shares of Lokalbanken i Nordsjælland
a/s delisted and deleted from trading and official listing on NASDAQ OMX
Copenhagen.
“At Handelsbanken we're encouraged by the fact that Lokalbanken's shareholders
have found our offer sufficiently attractive to sell their shares to us,” says
Frank Vang-Jensen, the head of Handelsbanken Danmark. “We have great respect
for the way in which Lokalbanken's shareholders have supported their local bank
for decades. Over a period of 91 years, the strong local presence has provided
a foundation for building a healthy and successful bank. Lokalbanken will
henceforth represent the backbone of Handelsbanken's operations in Zealand, and
we see a great potential in developing the bank further, retaining its strong
local footprint,” said Frank Vang-Jensen.
“For Lokalbanken's shareholders, customers and employees this is a very
important day,” said Bruno Riis-Nielsen, CEO of Lokalbanken. “Our customers
will still have a bank strongly rooted in the local community, they will keep
their advisers, and the location of the branches will be unchanged. In
addition, they will have a more competitive bank with more financial power and
better products. Our employees will be given a good and secure future, working
for a bank with even more exciting assignments and attractive career
opportunities,” said Bruno Riis-Nielsen.
For further information, please contact:
Handelsbanken:
Frank Vang-Jensen, Head of regional bank Denmark- tel.: +45 3341 8201
Mikkel Jørnvil Nielsen, Head of Communications - tel.: +45 3341 8297
Lokalbanken:
Bruno Riis-Nielsen, CEO - tel.: +45 4840 3600
Erik Uttenthal, Chairman- tel.: +45 2029 1514
