RIGA - Shareholders in Rigas Raugs, one of the largest yeast producers in the Baltics, on Aug. 23 rejected a proposal by minority shareholders to liquidate the company.
Minority shareholders Shelby Financial LLC, a finance company registered in Arkansas, U.S.A., and lawyer Normunds Sinkevics proposed to liquidate the company, claiming that the interests of minority shareholders were being disregarded.
Sinkevics told the Baltic News Service that the management's decisions were against the interests of minority shareholders.
"We believe that profit is being taken out of the company through dishonest means," and therefore there is no money to distribute to shareholders.
Sinkevics, who is also the authorized representative of Shelby Financial LLC, said that an analysis of the company's operations over the past three years shows that results have significantly deteriorated.
Rigas Raugs CEO Varis Peisenieks said that the company would not be liquidated since there was no basis to believe the large shareholders would support such a move.
The yeast company said it expected to post earnings of 42,000 lats (63,000 euros) this year, which would be four times higher than 2003, on sales of 1.1 million lats, up 9 percent year-on-year.
The largest shareholders of Rigas Raugs, which is listed on the Riga Stock Exchange's free list, are Sweden's Jastbolaget AB and Finland's Polttimo companies, each of which hold 39.33 percent.
Together Sinkevics and Shelby Financial LLC hold 5.3 percent of the company's stock.
