Signature of Purchase Agreement between the State of Iceland and Samson ehf.
Notice to the Iceland Stock Exchange
Signature of Purchase Agreement between the State of Iceland and Samson ehf.
Ms. Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, Minister for Trade, and Mr. Geir H. Haarde, Minster for Finance, acting together for the State of Iceland, today signed a purchase agreement with Samson Holding ehf. on the acquisition by Samson of a 45.8% interest in Landsbanki Íslands hf. (the National Bank of Iceland). The Purchase Agreement is based on a "Heads of Agreement" reached between the parties on 18 October of last year, where the principal substantial aspects of the present agreement were established and made public.
The main points of the Purchase Agreement are as follows:
· Delivery of the shares will take place in two stages. First, 33.3% of the total shares of Landsbanki Íslands hf. will be delivered following signature of the Purchase Agreement and approval of the Financial Supervisory Authority, and, second, 12.5% will be delivered in December 2003.
· The average net present price of the shares in the transaction is 3.91.
· The entire purchase price will be paid in US dollars.
· The first stage of the acquisition, involving 33.3% of the total shares in Landsbanki Íslands hf., is subject to the condition that Samson ehf. is not permitted to sell for 21 months from the signature of the purchase agreement except with the prior written consent of the Seller.
Following this transaction, the State interest in Landsbanki will amount to approximately 2.5%.
The Purchase Agreement contains provisions regarding a limited price adjustment, up to a maximum of ISK 700 million, in the event that the development of certain items on the Balance Sheet of the Bank diverges from the assumptions underlying the Heads of Agreement signed by the parties last October 18. It will not be clear until in the second half of the year 2003 whether these provisions will have an effect on the purchase price.
The arranger of the sale on behalf of the State of Iceland was the Executive Committee on Privatisation, with the British bank HSBC as the Committee's principal advisor.
Reykjavík, 31 December 2002