Marfin Popular EGM to approve 80 mln staff shares

Marfin Popular Bank Public Co Ltd announced that an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held at the International Conference Center, Nicosia on the 17 April, 2007, immediately after the conclusion of the business of the Annual General Meeting to be held on the same day.

The Board is proposing the issue of 80 mln shares of the same nominal value as the existing issued shares, i.e. fifty cents (CYP0,50) each. The exercise price of each Share Option shall amount to ten euro (EUR10).
The Board of Directors wants authorisation to issue within the framework of implementation of the Share Options Scheme which is issued with the First (Ordinary) Resolution of the present Agenda up to 80.000.000 shares, without the shares being first offered to the existing shareholders of the Company as provided by the Articles of Association of the Company and the Law.
The Board also wants to introduce a buyback of own shares scheme. The minimum and maximum acquisition price of the shares of the Company will not exceed five per cent (5%) of the average market value of shares of the Company, over the last five trading sessions prior to such purchase. The Company will be able to acquire a number of shares, the total of the nominal value of which not exceeding at any time ten percent (10%) of the issued capital or twenty five per cent (25%) of the average market value of the transactions executed over the previous thirty days, whichever is smaller, within a period of 12 months following the date of the decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company. Shares can be acquired either by private agreement or by purchase in the market and the Company will have the right to hold them for a maximum period of two (2) years from the date of acquisition. The implementation of the present Resolution is subject to acquiring any possibly necessary approval or permit from the Central Bank of Cyprus.
The Board is also seeking shareholder approval to allow the Board to elaborate and discuss with “Bank of Cyprus Public Company Ltd” the sectors and the terms for a strategic cooperation between the two Banks in order to generate synergies for the benefit of the shareholders of the two Banks.