NATTOPHARMA APPLY FOR DELISTING FROM NASDAQ FIRST NORTH
The Board of Directors of NattoPharma ASA has resolved to apply for delisting of the company's shares from Nasdaq First North.
Information about the last trading date on Nasdaq First North will be made public well in advance through a press release from the company.
The reason for this decision of desired delisting is that the company is primarily listed on Oslo Axess and due to low trading volumes on both Oslo Axess and Nasdaq First North, the board wishes to consolidate all trading in one marketplace with the aim of increasing the activity in the stock and thereby give shareholders a better opportunity to buy and sell shares in the company.
The company has approx. 625 shareholders registered at Oslo Axess, and another approx. 260 shareholders registered on Nasdaq First North. With the choice of marketplace, there are therefore important reasons why the continuation of trading on Oslo Axess is the most shareholder-friendly approach rather than a delisting in Oslo and the continuation of primary listing on Nasdaq First North. The Board therefore considers that it has fulfilled its obligation to safeguard the interests of the company and all shareholders by ensuring that trading in the stock will continue on Oslo Axess. The Board further considers that the decision on possible delisting is not contrary to good practice in the Swedish stock market. This is also supported by a statement from Aktiemarknadsnemden, who has been consulted in the process to prepare for this application of delisting.
The activity on Nasdaq First North during the period 1 January 2018 to 26 June 2018 is an average of 1.12 trades per trading day, with an average daily value of SEK 17,500. Similarly, in the same period, average 5.8 trades with a daily average value of NOK 76,200 have been conducted on Oslo Axess. The trading volume of Nasdaq First North indicates that there is little general interest in conducting trading through the marketplace and the board is of the opinion that the activity does not support continued listing on Nasdaq First North as a secondary trading venue for the company's shares.
The Board believes that it may apply for delisting without first obtaining support from all shareholders through a general meeting as the main weight of the company's shareholders is registered in Norway. In addition, over 45% of the total number of shares registered in Sweden is owned by large shareholders who are already registered with significant shares in Oslo Axess. These have consented to delisting from Nasdaq First North. This means that of a total of approx. 18.1 million shares registered in the company, then it is approx. 850,000 shares or approx. 4.7% of the share capital, which will be transferred to Oslo Axess without giving specific consent.
The shareholders in NattoPharma whose shares are currently registered on Nasdaq First North will still be able to trade their shares by transferring the shares to “Norwegian” shares. Shareholders who own shares through trustees will be able to continue to buy and sell shares through their trading channels at their nominee banks in line with today's solution. The disadvantages of the delisting from Nasdaq First North are thus very limited for shareholders whose shares per today is listed there.
NattoPharma has engaged Eminova Fondkommission AB to assist in the practical management of transferring the shares currently listed at Nasdaq First North to a trading account at Oslo Axess. For further information about how to proceed to ensure the safe transfer of shares, please contact; Eminova Fondkommission AB by phone on +46 08-68421100 or by email to info@eminova.se
As previously mentioned, NattoPharma ASA will continue its listing on Oslo Axess and will also fulfill all requirements Oslo Børs / Oslo Axess proposes to issuers of shares in the open marketplace. This will further safeguard the interests of Swedish shareholders in continuous information about significant events in NattoPharma ASA following the delisting from Nasdaq First North. Any shareholder who wishes to receive ongoing information in connection with the company's messages to Oslo Axess may subscribe to automatic messages from the company when such items are sent through the company's news service.
For more information, please contact:
Kjetil Ramsøy
CEO, NattoPharma
E-mail: kjetil.ramsoy@nattopharma.com
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
This information is information that NattoPharma ASA (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication through the agency of the contact person set out above at 8:00 am CET on August 22nd, 2018.