BELUGA GROUP announces the calling of an extraordinary general shareholder meeting

Russia's largest alcohol producer BELUGA GROUP (MOEX: BELU) announces that February 14, 2020 The Board of Directors of BELUGA GROUP passed a resolution to call an extraordinary general shareholder meeting.

The general shareholder meeting of BELUGA GROUP will consider whether the company should buy some of its own shares in order to reduce its share capital.

The details of the extraordinary general shareholder meeting of BELUGA GROUP are as follows:

• the meeting will be held in the form of in-absentia voting;
• the list of persons entitled to take part in the meeting should be ready by the end of the business day on February 25, 2020;
• all shareholders will be sent voting ballots by mail; all the voting ballots must be sent out by February 26, 2020;
• voting ballots will be accepted until March 17, 2020; all shareholders who manage to send in their ballots by that date will participate in the general meeting;
• send completed ballots to the following postal address: 127137, Russian Federation, Moscow, P.O. Box 54 (AO VTB Registrar).

Shareholders will be asked to consider reducing the share capital of BELUGA GROUP by 3,600,000 shares (19% of the current share capital) by means of the company purchasing said shares and canceling them at the time of purchase. The Board of Directors has also set the purchase price of the shares at RUB 667 per one ordinary share of BELUGA GROUP which is the weighted average price for the period from August 5, 2019, through February 5, 2020, at the Moscow Stock Exchange.

Every shareholder of the BELUGA GROUP will be able to sell their shares while BELUGA GROUP will be obliged to buy them. In the event that the total number of shares offered for sale exceeds the aforementioned number, shares will be purchased from shareholders on pro rata basis.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors Nikolay Belokopytov made the following statement on the corporate event: "The main goal behind the purchase by BELUGA GROUP of its own shares is to redeem more than half the quasi-treasury shares held by the group's subsidiaries. As a result, the structure of the corporate share capital will become more transparent and the fundamental investment value of BELUGA GROUP will increase as the buy-back of shares resulting in a reduction of the total share capital is ultimately an indirect way to pay dividends to shareholders. In addition, it should be noted that if the share capital is reduced only at the expense of the quasi-treasury shares, BELUGA GROUP won't meet any cash outflow so the financial position of the group will not change at all."

At the moment, the company has 6.8 million quasi-treasury shares (35% of the current share capital). If BELUGA GROUP shareholders do not exercise their rights, the number of quasi-treasury shares will decrease to 3.2 million (20% of the new share capital of the Company) while the ownerships’ stakes of the other BELUGA GROUP shareholders will go up by a factor of 1.23 after the corresponding reduction of the share capital.

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About BELUGA GROUP:

BELUGA GROUP is one of Russia’s largest alcohol companies, a major producer of vodka and distilled beverages and a leading independent importer of strong spirits in the country.

The group runs 6 distilleries, 1 winery and manages its own distribution network and specialized alcohol retail chain — WineLab.

The key brands of company’s own production are the super-premium vodka Beluga, the vodka brands Belenkaya, Arkhangelskaya, Belaya Sova (Snow Owl), Mednaya Loshadka (Copper Horse), Myagkov, wine Golubitskoe Estate, Russian champagne VOGUE and the brandy brands Zolotoy Rezerv and Bastion, Green Baboon gin, Fox & Dogs Scotch whisky, Troublemaker Irish whiskey and Eagle’s Rock bourbon.

BELUGA GROUP is the exclusive distributor of the multibrand William Grant & Sons company and imports the Scottish whiskies Glenfiddich, Grant’s, Monkey Shoulder, Clan McGregor and The Balvenie, the gin brand Hendrick’s, the tequila Milagro and the Irish whiskey brand Tullamore D.E.W. Apart from that, BELUGA GROUP’s imported brand portfolio includes the products manufactured by the French cognac family of Camus, the rum Barcelo, the brandy Torres, the calvados Berneroy,the herbal bitter line Latvijas Balzams and the Armenian cognac Noy.

The company exclusively represents in Russia international winemakers and brands, including Familia Torres, Masi, Tenuta Luce, Champagne Billecart-Salmon, Maison Louis Latour, Gerard Bertrand, Faustino, Cono Sur, Maison Calvet, Piccini, Barefoot, Markus-Molitor. BELUGA GROUP is also the exclusive distributor of the Austrian premium glassware manufacturer RIEDEL.  

BELUGA GROUP successfully launches its products on foreign markets as well. The group is one of the Top-3 exporters of Russian vodka and the leader among Russian companies in exporting this product in the super-premium segment.