Baltic News Service

  • 2003-06-19
VILNIUS

Sweden's East Capital Asset Management has acquired 12.86 percent of shares in Laivite, the shipyard in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, in early June, according to the Lithuanian securities commission.
The shares were bought on the open market, as some 17.86 percent of shares in Laivite changed hands on the National Stock Exchange on June 4 in operations worth 648,600 litas (188,000 euros).
The price per share was 6.46 litas, well below the face value of 35 litas, which would put the market capitalization of Laivite at 3.63 million litas, less than the company's net profit for 2002.
East Capital Asset Manage-ment manages East Capital Baltic Fund, East Capital Eastern European Fund and the East Capital Russian Fund.
In early June, the East Capital Baltic Fund had stakes in Lietuvos Telekomas, Snaige, Mazeikiu Nafta (Mazeikiai Oil), Vilniaus Vingis and Klaipedos Transporto Laivynas.
The buyer of another 5 percent of shares in Laivite has not been named, as existing regulations do not require investors to report acquisitions of less than 10 percent of a company's outstanding stock.
Laivite posted a net profit of 4.2 million litas for the full year 2002, a 7.6 percent increase over the previous year. Its annual revenues surged by 47.6 percent to 34 million litas last year.
There had been unsuccessful attempts to sell Laivite's shares since late November 2002, when the selling price was initially set at 21.36 litas.
Laivite employs a workforce of 1,200 people. It repaired 72 vessels last year. Existing shareholders also include Baltlanta, with 39 percent, and Irvinga with 30.3 percent, both of which are based in Klaipeda.