Bulgarian regulator suspends Rehub bid for Elea Capital

The FSC found that the proposal contains several deficiencies and inconsistencies that need to be addressed, the financial regulator said in a notice on Tuesday.

Rehub should update the number of shares it owns in Elea Capital and the stake it seeks to acquire, taking into account its recent purchase of some 1.39 million new shares as part of Elea Capital's capital increase. The revised offer should include details on the capital hike and outline any planned investments using the proceeds.

The proposal should additionally outline Rehub's intentions for management bodies, personnel and employment contracts of both the bidder and the target company for three years after the acquisition, along with its plans for the two companies' equity capitals.

The price per share of Elea Capital using the discounted cash flows method should be recalculated and corrected throughout the tender offer, the FSC added.

Rehub, which held 65,300 voting shares in Elea Capital at the time, equal to a 69.64% stake, submitted an offer in October to buy the remaining 28,474 shares at 35.80 levs ($19.63/18.30 euro) apiece.

Last month, Elea Capital's board of directors said the buyout bid is a fair offer to its shareholders.

Shares in the company last traded at 26.00 levs on the BaSE market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, bourse data show.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)