A Commercial Code provision exempting privatization investors from offering mandatory share buyouts to minority shareholders is being challenged at the Constitutional Court by a domestic political party. Should the Court terminate the exemption, the privatization investors would be forced to offer buyouts to minority shareholders - this could negatively impact the privatization prices (on which the market price usually reacts), though an option to sell via a buyout would be positive for minority shareholders. Nevertheless, mandatory buyouts could also negatively affect liquidity on the Prague Stock Exchange, should the relevant shares be offered for sale. And, most importantly at the moment, the legal issue introduces a remarkable amount of uncertainty for CEZ and Unipetrol bidders, since the privatization tender winners should in both cases be selected Monday, December 17. Negative.
(Jiri Soustruznik)