The Boards of NGM Holding and its subsidiary NGM unanimously recommend an acceptance of the agreement that was made today with Boerse Stuttgart regarding the assignment of all outstanding shares in the subsidiary NGM that runs the stock exchange business.
This is an excellent solution for NGM both from a financial and an industrial logic, says Heléne Bergquist, Chairperson of the Board of NGM Holding and the Board of NGM. It is a good agreement and our Boards unanimously recommend shareholders to accept.
The assignment of shares to Boerse Stuttgart is, among other things, conditioned by an authorization by the shareholder to the Board to effect the transaction and to make changes to the articles of association at an extraordinary General Meeting on 21 November.
The purchase-sum of SEK 40 million representing approximately SEK 0.55 per share is favourable for the NGM Holding shareholders. We are convinced that Boerse Stuttgart, Germany’s leading stock exchange for private customers, represents a secure and stable owner for NGM and its issuers and its members, says Heléne Bergquist.
The NGM stock exchange license was withdrawn by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, “Finansinspektionen”, on 29 September 2008, among other things due to obstruction of regulatory supervision by the previous Board and management. NGM was given six months to terminate the licensable part of its business.
The new Board that was elected in June this year has worked thoroughly to identify NGM’s shortcomings and to improve the company’s organisation and conduct of business. We have also appointed a new acting CEO. Following the decision by Finansinspektionen, criticising the previous Board and owners, we have worked intensively to find a solution for NGM that could make a retrieved stock exchange license possible.
In the process of identifying different future possibilities for NGM, we have given priority to the most concrete and advantageous alternative, given the limited time perspective, says Heléne Bergquist.
New main owner of NGM Holding is Pyr Invest AB that has been approved by Finansinspektionen.
The Board has done a very good job and we will accept the agreement with the Stuttgart exchange, says Peter Benson, CEO of Pyr Invest. Although we would have preferred NGM retrieving the exchange license at its own merits, there is great uncertainty and limited time. Given the circumstances, Boerse Stuttgart represents the best solution.
