Copenhagen, 2012-05-14 15:13 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
The Board of Directors of ALK-Abelló A/S (‘ALK') has decided to buy back shares in accordance with the authorisation granted by the Annual General meeting on 27 March 2012. As of 14 May 2012 ALK holds 357,717 treasury shares of a nominal value of DKK 10 each, corresponding to 3.5% of ALK's share capital.
The purpose of the share buy-back programme is to hedge ALK's incentive programmes.
The share buy-back programme runs from 15 May 2012 until 4 February 2013, both days inclusive. The share buy-back programme is initiated and structured in compliance with the EU Commission Regulation No. 2273/2003 of 22 December 2003 (the so-called Safe Harbour Regulative for share buy-back programmes), which ensures that ALK is protected against violation of insider legislation in relation to the share buy-back programme.
ALK has entered into a contract with Nordea Bank Danmark A/S (‘Nordea'), in which Nordea acts as financial advisor and as Lead Manager of the programme. Nordea handles all purchase transactions independently of and without influence from ALK.
The share buy-back programme is subject to the following terms:
- The maximum amount that ALK may pay for shares purchased under the share buy-back programme is no more than DKK 75 million, and no more than 200,000 shares may be purchased, corresponding to 2.0% of the current share capital of ALK.
- The maximum number of shares that can be bought back in one single trading day may not be greater than 25% of the average daily trading volume of ALK's shares on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen in the last 20 trading days preceding the given trading day.
- Shares cannot be purchased at prices exceeding the higher of:
- The price of the latest independent trade
- The price of the highest independent bid on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen at the time of the transaction
- The price of the latest independent trade
ALK will announce the number of repurchased shares and the value of these shares on a weekly basis in a separate announcement to NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen.
ALK-Abelló A/S
Jens Bager
President and CEO
Contact person: Jens Bager, President and CEO, tel. +45 4574 7576
Investor Relations: Per Plotnikof, tel. +45 4574 7527, mobile +45 2261 2525
Press: Martin Barlebo, tel. +45 4574 7901, mobile +45 2064 1143
About ALK
ALK is a research-driven global pharmaceutical company focusing on allergy prevention, diagnosis and treatment. ALK is the world leader in allergy immunotherapy — a unique treatment of the underlying cause of allergy. The company has approximately 1,800 employees with subsidiaries, production facilities and distributors worldwide. ALK has entered into partnership agreements with Merck and Torii to commercialise allergy immunotherapy tablets in North America and Japan, respectively. The company is headquartered in Hørsholm, Denmark, and listed on the NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen A/S. Find more information at www.alk-abello.com.