All Grindex's shares acquired at auction

RIGA (BNS) - The July 12 auction at the Riga Stock Exchange sold all 405,342 shares of the pharmaceuticals manufacturer Grindex on offer for cash. The selling price was quoted at 0.24 lats ($0.40) per share.

The Latvian Privatization Agency had set the lowest selling price for Grindex at 0.2 lats per share.

This was the fifth time that the LPA had attempted to sell these shares in Grindex that were sold as part of the rehabilitation program of Latvijas Krajbanka.

Viktors Sadinovs, LPA deputy board chairman, explained that it was decided to put the shares up for the auction again because the LPA needs funds to satisfy thye claims of employees of insolvent state-owned companies.

At the first auction the share price as set at 3 lats per share, at the second auction at 2.7 lats per share, third at 2.31 lats per share and at the fourth auction at 1.72 lats per share.

Grindex was listed among the to-be-privatized companies in August 1995. The first round of privatization took place in 1997 and the controlling stake in the pharmaceuticals manufacturer was acquired by Arials, the sister company of the then Estonian Investment Bank, currently Optiva Bank.

Late in April 3,142,223 shares or 40.6 percent in Grindex were held by Arials, Timothy company held 1,785,000 shares or 23.1 percent, LPA 405,352 shares or 5.2 percent and the State Social Insurance Agency 219,780 shares or 2.8 percent.

Grindex's shares are traded on the second list of the RSE. The company was 9.9 million lats in the red in 1998 on a net turnover of 9 million lats.

Grindex plans to work at a 264,000 lats profit in 1999 on a net turnover of 10.8 million lats.