Hansapank board members had suggested increasing the capital through issuing 7 million new shares but decided to double its stock issue instead, due to a favorable market situation. The issue is directed at one strategic investor who makes the highest bid in preliminary negotiations.
The negotiations are being held by international investment bank Merryl Lynch, and Hansapank is not authorized to disclose the names of the potential negotiation partners.
During the past few weeks, two Scandinavian banks - Swedbank and Scandinaviska Enskilda Banken (S-E Banken) - have bought up Hansapank shares.
Swedbank holds a 30 percent stake in Hansapank; S-E Banken's current stake is about 10 percent. S-E Banken has announced that it intends to achieve a stake of 33 percent in Hansapank and it has already sent an application to the Bank of Estonia for permission to increase its stake.
Swedbank has signed a contract with Hansa Investments, under which Hansa Investments becomes Swedbank's corporate consultant, in order to get better information about the local situation.
"While Swedbank is Sweden's largest retail bank, S-E Banken is the strongest in lending to businesses and investments," said Rain Lohmus, a member of Hansapank's board.
According to the Estonian business daily Aripaev, Swedbank's assets total 1,216 billion kroons ($87 billion), and the bank earned 6,765 million kroons in profit during the first half of the year.
S-E Banken assets total 1,281 billion kroons and the bank earned 9,774 million kroons through June 1998. The precise figures for Hansapank, the biggest bank in the Baltic states, are 20 billion kroons and 188.6 million kroons in 1998 thus far.
Specialists have calculated that if Swedbank purchases the stock issue, its holding in Hansapank would increase to 43 percent. If S-E Banken acquires the whole stock issue, it will own 27 percent of Hansapank.
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