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On 23 January 2007, UniCredit decided to delist the HVB share and the BA-CA share and to make a compensation offer to the remaining holders of shares in free float.
Following the transfer of HVB’s shares in
BA-CA to the Group’s parent company, this is a logical step to complete the implementation of the target structure, which will facilitate governance within the Group. The measure is also to be seen in the context of UniCredit Group’s business model, which focuses on the supraregional network, with results primarily recorded at Group level.
The shareholder structure of Bank Austria Creditanstalt presents a very clear picture. After the registration of the capital increase on 17 March 2007, the Group’s parent company holds 96.35% of BA-CA’s shares. Most recently, the free float is 3.65%.
In retrospect, the Bank Austria Creditanstalt share reflected the bank’s growth and the development of operations in CEE since the IPO in mid-2003, and showed an excellent performance.
The business combination to form UniCredit Group was welcomed by the stock market with a strong increase in the share price. During the exchange period and its extension, the price of BA-CA shares moved to a level of 19.92 times the price of UniCredit shares, reflecting the premium in connection with the exchange offer. The holders of 77.72% of the free float accepted the exchange offer and in the subsequent months benefited from the increase in the UniCredit share price (and the dividend outlook).
Subsequently, the BA-CA share no longer moved independently in line with the fundamentals. Recent share price movements and levels were determined by speculative position-taking.
Despite the delisting, the transparency of results and, above all, the capital market orientation of BA-CA will be fully maintained. We will make our contribution to meeting UniCredit Group’s target for value enhancement, thereby supporting the performance of this high-dividend equity.