OREANDA-NEWS. September 01, 2009. The Bank of Lithuania announced a public tender for the sale of shares of the public limited liability company Central Securities Depository of Lithuania. The Bank of Lithuania has put for sale its block of shares which accounts for 60% of the authorised capital of the Depository, reported the press-centre of Bank of Lithuania.

"We expect the tender will attract international interest. The ongoing consolidation processes in the European securities market infrastructure ensure favourable conditions for the new shareholders to have the Depository involved into these consolidation processes in order to boost its competitiveness in the rapidly changing environment,” Darius Petrauskas, who is a Deputy Chairman of the Bank and the Chairman of the Commission for the Sale of the Depository Shares by Public Tender, says.

In his words, the decision to sell the Bank of Lithuania-controlled block of shares of the Depository was adopted after taking into consideration a favourable global context, as well as the fact that the most important joint projects of the Bank of Lithuania and the Depository, that are directly related with the functions of the Bank of Lithuania in the field of the administration of payment systems have been already completed, which means that there is no need for the Bank of Lithuania to further participate in the management of the Depository.

The block of shares to be sold is made of 36,318 ordinary registered shares. The nominal value of one share is LTL 100. The lowest selling price of the Depository shares shall be not announced.

The share purchase bids shall be received at the Bank of Lithuania, Totoriu g. 4, Vilnius until 5 p.m. of 29 October 2009. The bid shall have to specify the price offered by the auction participant. Shares are sold all in bulk to one strategic investor or a group of investors acting in concert. The sale is expected to be finalised by the end this year.

The winner of the tender is the one who places the highest bid price in litas. The Bank of Lithuania shall reserve the right of not selling shares if bid prices of all tender participants do not satisfy it.