MeritaNordbanken offer to acquire alla shares in Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse

MeritaNordbanken offer to acquire all shares in Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse prolonged The MeritaNordbanken offer to acquire all shares in Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse for NOK 42.50 per share has been extended until 17.00 on Fri- day 30 June 2000. After a final decision on the policies for the state owned minority stake in Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse, Nordic Baltic Holding (NBH), the par- ent company of MeritaNordbanken and Unidanmark, will evaluate the situa- tion with the aim to facilitate a speedy process for Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse to join the new Nordic financial services group. In a comment Hans Dalborg, CEO of NBH states: - We welcome this week's announcement by the Norwegian Government that the State should sell its 34.65 per cent of the shares in Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse (CBK) and today's proposal to the Stortinget to change the fi- nancial industry policies accordingly. We have taken note of the fact that the Government has rejected the current MeritaNordbanken offer to acquire all CBK shares. - However, the MeritaNordbanken offer is extended today for technical rea- sons and to reaffirm the commitment by Nordic Baltic Holding to create a Nordic financial services group including CBK. The Board of Directors of Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse, its management and employees have recom- mended shareholders to accept the current offer as industrially sound and financially fair and more than 8,000 shareholders have done so. We will continue to work for our common objective together with interested par- ties. - During the prolongation we will consider steps to further an adequate process for the inclusion of Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse into Nordic Baltic Holding on terms acceptable to the shareholders of both NBH and CBK. The MeritaNordbanken offer to acquire all shares of Christiania Bank og Kreditkasse for NOK 44 per share was presented on 20 September 1999 and is technically valid until 30 June 2000. The offer has been adjusted for the extraordinary CBK dividend to NOK 42.50 per share and extended to 26 May 2000. Upon completion CBK shareholders that have accepted the offer will receive interest rate compensation of 6 per cent per annum from the date the shares were received by MeritaNordbanken. Further information: Markku Pohjola, Executive Vice President, +358 9 165 422 45 Lars Thalén, Corporate Identity and Communications, +46 8 614 7951, +46 709 200 665 Not for distribution in Australia, Japan, Canada or the United States. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/26/20000526BIT00780/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/26/20000526BIT00780/bit0002.pdf