July 7 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's financial regulator said that it has temporarily halted an offer by local drug maker Sopharma [BUL:SFA] to acquire some 14.6 million shares in its subsidiary Sopharma Properties REIT [BUL:SFI].
The decision was made at a meeting of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) on Tuesday, according to a statement by the regulator.
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Sopharma, which currently holds some 7.32 million shares in the property investment trust, tabled an offer in June to buy the remaining 66.66% for 8.20 levs apiece.
The proposal contains technical inconsistencies and omissions which require correction, the FSC explained.
In addition, the bidder must provide information certified by the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) on the average volume-weighted price of the target company's shares in the six months prior to the registration of the buyout bid as well as the most recent applicable share price.
The financial regulator demanded other revisions in the financial justification of the tender offer, noting that the price per share in the bid may need to be recalculated.
Sopharma Properties REIT's main asset is the Sopharma Towers business complex in Sofia, which has an area of 24,440 square metres.
In the first quarter of 2022, the property investment trust booked a 4% year-on-year decline in sales revenue to 2.5 million levs and a 10% drop in net profit to 1.6 million levs.
Sopharma Properties REIT's stock value increased 53% in the past 12 months. The company has a market capitalisation of 187.9 million levs ($98 million/96.1 million euro).
Sopharma Properties REIT's shares closed flat at 8.15 levs on Wednesday.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)