BANK OF CYPRUS ANNOUNCES ITS DECISION TO SUBMIT A PUBLIC TENDER OFFER TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF CYTRUSTEES PUBLIC COMPANY LTD FOR THE ACQUISITION OF UP TO 50% OF THE SHARES OF CYTRUSTEES THE OFFER CONSIDERATION IS ? 2,20 IN CASH FOR EACH CYTRUSTEES SHARE
Founded in 1899, the Bank of Cyprus Group is the leading Cypriot banking and financial services group. In 1991, the Group established its first branch in Greece where it has been expanding rapidly since 1999. It has an established banking presence in the United Kingdom and in 2001 it expanded to Australia through a wholly owned subsidiary bank. In addition to retail and commercial banking, the Group''s activities include finance, factoring, investment banking, brokerage, fund management, life and general insurance. The Group currently operates through a total of 284 branches, of which 147 operate in Cyprus, 120 in Greece, six in the United Kingdom, ten in Australia and one in the Channel Islands. Bank of Cyprus also has representation in the United States of America, Canada, South Africa, Russia and Romania. The Bank of Cyprus Group employs 6.159 staff worldwide. At 30 September 2006, the Group''s Total Assets reached C£14,01bn (?24,29bn) and the Group''s Shareholders'' Funds were C£876mn (?1,52bn). The Bank of Cyprus shares are listed on the Cyprus and Athens Stock Exchanges. Additional information can be found at the Group''s website www.bankofcyprus.com. Bank of Cyprus Public Company Limited ("Bank of Cyprus", "Offeror") announces that it has decided to submit a Public Offer ("Public Offer") to the shareholders of Cytrustees Investment Public Company Limited ("Cytrustees") for the acquisition of up to 50% of the issued share capital of Cytrustees.
Cytrustees is an approved closed end investment company listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange ("CSE"). Cytrustees was ιncorporated in 1990 in Cyprus and was converted into a public company in 1991. The Offer consideration is ?2,20 in cash for each Cytrustees share. The closing share price of Cytrustees on the CSE on 12 December 2006 was ?1,71. Based on Cytrustees'' last public announcement, its net asset value per share as at 30 November 2006 was ?2,60. It is noted that Bank of Cyprus holds 661.119 Cytrustees shares, i.e. 2,74% of Cytrustees'' total issued share capital, and Eurolife Ltd (a 100% subsidiary of Bank of Cyprus) holds 1.676.855 Cytrustees shares i.e. 6,95% of Cytrustees'' total issued share capital. The total issued share capital of Cytrustees amounts to 24.122.098 shares of a nominal value of C£0,67 each. The Public Offer is conditional to obtaining all necessary approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities pursuant to current legislation. To this end Bank of Cyprus will proceed with all necessary actions to obtain such approvals. Detailed terms of the Public Offer and other information will be included in the Public Offer Document which will be drafted pursuant to the existing legislation in Cyprus. This announcement is made in accordance with Article 9(1) of the Cyprus Securities and Stock Exchange (Public Offer for Acquisition of Securities and Merger of Companies Listed on the Stock Exchange) Regulations 1997-2006.