Yara Listed Today - Hydro to Concentrate on Energy and Aluminium
March 25 2004 - 2:52AM
PR Newswire (US)
Yara Listed Today - Hydro to Concentrate on Energy and Aluminium
OSLO, Norway, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Yara International
ASA, Hydro's demerged fertilizer business, will be listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange today (ticker: YAR). Following the Yara
listing, Hydro will concentrate fully on further developing its
energy and aluminium businesses. "Hydro and Yara share nearly 100
years of history. Today, Yara - formerly Hydro Agri - becomes a
separate company, under the leadership of Thorleif Enger and his
team," Hydro's President and CEO, Eivind Reiten stated. "Today also
marks the beginning of a new era for Hydro; we will strengthen our
position by concentrating financial and management resources on
further developing the two main business areas, Oil & Energy
and Aluminium." As a result of the demerger, 80 percent of the Yara
shares have been issued to Hydro's shareholders. Each Hydro
shareholder received one Yara share for each share held in Hydro at
the close of trading March 24, 2004. Beginning today, the Hydro
share (ticker code NHY) will be traded excluding the right to
receive Yara shares. Hydro's American Depository Receipts (ADR)
will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange including the right
to receive Yara shares throughMarch 31, 2004 and excluding Yara
shares from and after April 1, 2004. Hydro retained 20 percent of
the Yara shares in the demerger. Today Hydro has sold 31.9 million
shares in Yara (10 percent) for NOK 41 per share. The total
proceeds amounted to NOK1.3 billion, which resulted in a pre-tax
gain of approximately NOK 260 million. The gain will be included in
income from discontinued operations. After this sale, Hydro owns
31.9 million Yara shares, representing 10 percent of Yara. Hydro
has granted to the managers an over-allotment option exercisable
for a 30-day period ending on April 24, 2004, under which the
managers may purchase some or all of these shares. Yara will today
repay its financial indebtedness to Hydro by drawing on Yara's
newly established bank loan facilities. This announcement does not
constitute, or form part of, an offer or invitation to sell or
issue, or any solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for
securities and any subscription for or purchase of, or application
for, shares in Yara to be issued or sold in connection with the
offering should only be made on the basis of information contained
in the prospectus issued in connection with the offering and any
supplements thereto. The prospectus contains certain detailed
information about Yara and its management, as well as financial
statements and other financial data. This announcement does not
contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United
States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will
not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent
registration or an exemption from registration thereunder. No
public offering of the securities referredto herein is being made
in the United States. This document is only being distributed to
and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United
Kingdom or (ii) to investment professionals falling within Article
19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial
Promotion) Order 2001 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth
entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be
communicated, falling within Article 49(2) of the Order (all such
persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The
shares are only available to, and any invitation, offer or
agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares
will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is
not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or
any of its contents. This announcement and the information
contained herein is not for publication, distribution or release
in, or into Canada, Australia or Japan. Stabilisation/FSA. Certain
statements in this press release are or may constitute "forward-
looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not in the
nature of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking
statements and may contain identifying words such as "believes",
"anticipates", "plans", "expects" and similar expressions. These
forward looking statements are based on Hydro's current
expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the
company and the industries in whichit engages in business. All
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. For a
detailed description of factors that could cause Hydro's actual
results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by
such statements, please refer to its annual report on Form 20-F for
the year-ended December 31, 2002 and subsequent filings on Form 6-K
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With respect to
each non- GAAP financial measure Hydro uses in connection with its
financial reporting and other public communications, Hydro provides
a presentation of what Hydro believes to be the most directly
comparable GAAP financial measure and a reconciliation between the
non-GAAP and GAAP measures. This information can be found in
Hydro's earnings press releases, quarterly reports and other
written communications, all of which have been posted to Hydro's
website (http://www.hydro.com/). Hydro is a Fortune 500 energy and
aluminium supplier operating in more than 40 countries. We are
aleading offshore producer of oil and gas and the world's
third-largest aluminium supplier. Our 36,000 employees create value
by strengthening the viability of the customers and communities we
serve. Contact Peik Norenberg Kjetil Bakken Telephone (+47) 22 53
34 40 +47 22 53 23 13 Cellular (+47) 91 76 15 56 +47 91 889 889
E-mail DATASOURCE: Norsk Hydro CONTACT: Peik Norenberg,
+47-22-53-34-40, or cell, +47-91-76-15-56, or , or Kjetil Bakken,
+47-22-53-23-13, or cell, +47-91-889-889, or , both of Norsk Hydro
Web site: http://www.hydro.com/
Copyright