Oslo Børs already held liquid funds worth about NOK 170 million upon privatisation. A review of Oslo Børs Holding's strategy and future capital and liquidity situation shows that its stock of capital and liquid funds substantially exceeds what the bourse can pay interest on in a rational manner. It is important for Oslo Børs not to have more interest-bearing capital tied up than it actually needs and can pay interest on. Hence the Board's wish to pay an extraordinary dividend of NOK 12 per share. The Board's assessment takes account of the fact that as an important part of the financial infrastructure the bourse needs a substantially larger capital base than is normally needed by other companies.
Ever since Oslo Børs was privatised in 2001, Oslo Børs Holding has stated that its share would be a typical share dividend, and as recently as last year an extraordinary dividend of NOK 14 was paid.
Provided the general meeting supports the Board's proposal in September, we will demonstrate, leaving no room for doubt, our intention to live up to the statements regarding dividend that we made when the bourse was privatised. It's all for the best that shareholders should take out surplus liquidity and invest it in areas where it can achieve a better return. To contribute to such a process is also one of the main funktions for a Stock Exchange, says Sven Arild Andersen, President of Oslo Børs.
A pay-out of extraordinary dividend will be charged to the share premium reserve and will comply with the rules of the Public Limited Companies Act governing capital reductions. The share premium reserve will in the event be written down by NOK 60 million. Assuming the general meeting supports the Board's proposal, the last day the share will trade with dividend is expected to be 15 December, with 22 December as the likely pay-out date.
