CJSC Obolon, one of the largest beer producers in Ukraine, has been reorganized from a closed joint-stock company into a public joint-stock company, the company's press service has told Interfax-Ukraine.
"Ukrainian law requires joint-stock companies in which the number of shareholders exceeds 100 to change their names to a public joint-stock company. This means that our joint-stock company will be opener to the public," the press service said, citing Obolon President Oleksandr Slobodian.
The company said that a decision to change the name of the company was made at a general meeting of the company’s shareholders in late April 2011. In addition, the shareholders approved a switch to book-entry form for the company’s shares.
Slobodian said that Obolon continues to be a company in which all shareholders are Ukrainian.
"We continue writing the history of Ukrainian business, and this time through the introduction of innovations in corporate management. The twenty-year-ago strategy aimed at building a powerful national company, Obolon, is still in effect and is looking ahead," he said.
Obolon incorporates a brewery in Kyiv and nine companies in the regions. In 2010 the company increased beer output by 3% compared to 2009, to 99.4 million decaliters.
According to the company’s registrar, the largest shareholders in Obolon as of early December 2010 were private companies Oksamytove, Svitle, Premium One (all based in Kyiv), which owned 13.18%, 12.87% and 20.01% respectively, and a subsidiary of Obolon – Krasylivske (Khmelnytsky region), which owned a 23.9999% stake in the company.
As of November 2010 the company had six shareholders-companies and 888 individuals with a combined stake of 27.78%.
