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VTB, Russia's second-biggest lender, may back buy its shares only from minority shareholders who bought them at its 2007 IPO.
"We have worked out such proposals for the supervisory board to discuss. We are not talking about all shareholders but only those who bought shares at the IPO," spokesman Maxim Lunyov said Tuesday.
VTB shares rallied, with traders citing a newspaper report that the bank was considering buying back its shares from all minority shareholders at a significant premium.
Kommersant on Tuesday reported, citing an anonymous banking source, that VTB may buy minority shareholders' shares at the IPO price -- roughly four times more than they are worth now -- but the value of any deal will not exceed 300,000 rubles ($9,100).
"This news is a positive for investors, apart from it will cost the company tons of money," Artyom Moskovsky, trader at UniCredit Securities said.
VTB shares climbed more than 1.6 percent to 0.0334 rubles, outperforming a broadly flat MICEX Index in Moscow. In London, its GDRs closed up 12 percent.
Analysts said, however, that there was a minimal chance of the government endorsing such a transaction for the state-controlled bank, which is struggling with losses.
"Considering the difficult financial position of the bank -- we project it will be loss-making in 2009 and it will have to recapitalize -- we consider the chances of the government endorsing such a transaction to be slim," UBS said in a note.
The Finance Ministry has previously indicated that it opposes any minority compensation schemes.
VTB Considering Buying Back Shares at IPO Price
06 May 2009
Reuters
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