Wimm-Bill-Dann Announces Proposed Secondary Offering of Common Stock by Shareholders.MOSCOW -- Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC OJSC Open Joint Stock Company [NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : WBD WBD Will Be Done WBD Wide Band Data Instrument (Cluster spacecraft) WBD Wideband Data ], Russia's leading manufacturer of dairy products dairy products dairy npl → produits laitier dairy products dairy npl → Milchprodukte pl, Molkereiprodukte pl and beverages, today announced that certain shareholders of the Company took a decision to facilitate an increase in stock liquidity in the Russian market by offering up to 4,400,000 local common shares of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods' (or up to 10% of the outstanding shares) in a lead managed public offering. Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods will not sell any shares in, and will not receive any of the proceeds from, the proposed offering. "I am not selling any shares, but I support my long-time partners in their desire to create additional liquidity of Wimm-Bill-Dann's shares in the Russian market", commented David Iakobachvili, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "This is a milestone transaction for the company", Tony Maher, Wimm-Bill-Dann's Chief Executive Officer, added: "Ever since I joined the company I have been encouraging the shareholders to address investors' concerns and raise liquidity in the Russian market. I think this is a very positive development for the company and the Russia stock market overall". Troika Dialog is the sole book-running manager of the offering. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Some of the information contained in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC, as defined in the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements to conform them to actual results. We refer you to the documents Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically, the Company's most recent Form 20-F. These documents contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned "Risk Factors" in our Form 20-F, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, and risks associated with our competitive environment, acquisition strategy, ability to develop new products or maintain market share, brand and company image, operating in Russia, volatility of stock price, financial risk management, and future growth. ABOUT WIMM-BILL-DANN OJSC Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC is a leading manufacturer of dairy products and beverages in Russia. The company was founded in 1992. The Company currently owns 30 manufacturing facilities in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), community of independent nations established by a treaty signed at Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 8, 1991, by the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Between Dec. 8 and Dec. (CIS Cis (sĭs), same as Kish (1.) (1) (CompuServe Information Service) See CompuServe. (2) (Card Information S ), as well as trade affiliates in 26 cities in Russia and the CIS. Wimm-Bill-Dann has a diversified branded portfolio with over 1,000 types of dairy products and over 150 types of juice, nectars and still drinks. The company currently employs over 17,000 people. On May 18, 2006, Standard & Poor's Governance Services announced the upgrade of WBD's Corporate Governance Corporate Governance The relationship between all the stakeholders in a company. This includes the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate charter, bylaws, formal policy, and rule of law. Score (CGS CGS centimeter-gram-second system. CGS or cgs abbr. centimeter-gram-second system. CGS, c.g.s. ) from 7 to 7+ (from 7.3 and 7.7 accordingly on the Russian national scale), which makes the Company's score the highest rating in Russia. The increase in the score reflects the effective work of the Board of Directors and, in particular, the real influence of independent directors in the decision-making process and the adherence of the controlling shareholders to the highest standards of corporate governance. |
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