Swedish Lundin Petroleum to distribute Etrion stock to shareholders

(ADPnews) - Oct 6, 2010 - Swedish company Lundin Petroleum AB (STO:LUPE) said on Tuesday it plans to distribute to its shareholders its stake in Swiss-based solar energy company Etrion Corp (TSE:ETX).

The move is subject to approval by an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, to be held on or around November 4.

Lundin Petroleum, via a subsidiary, owns some 71 million shares in Etrion, corresponding to 40% of its capital. The Swedish company has a voting agreement with certain other Etrion shareholders, giving it control over 53% of the votes.

In addition, Lundin Petroleum has an outstanding bridge loan to Etrion maturing in October 2011, which is currently drawn to some EUR 49 million (USD 67.9m).

It is expected that Lundin Petroleum's shareholders will receive approximately 0.228 Etrion shares for each Lundin share they hold.

Etrion, which builds, owns and operates solar power plants in Italy, is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company plans to obtain a secondary listing on the Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm in November 2010.

The distribution of Lundin Petroleum's shareholding in Etrion is a natural step in Etrion's listing in Stockholm, Lundin Petroleum's CEO, Ashley Heppenstall, said.

Following the distribution, the Lundin family, which is a main shareholder in the Lundin group of companies, will raise its direct ownership in Etrion to nearly 25% from the current 12%.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.385)

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