OSLO, Norway, Feb. 28, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Board of Norsk Hydro ASA (NYSE:NHY) will ask the company's Annual General Meeting for authorization to buy back shares.
Under this authorization, the Board may buy up to 2 808 810 of the company's own shares in the market, over the 18 months period commencing 8 May 2003. Each share may be purchased at prices ranging from NOK 100 to NOK 500 per share. The General Meeting will subsequently be invited to approve cancellation of the purchased shares, with a corresponding writedown of the share capital.
Based on an agreement with the Norwegian State, Norsk Hydro's largest shareholder, the subsequent General Meeting will also be invited to approve cancellation of a proportional part of the State's shares. The State's ownership share will therefore remain unaffected by the buyback. The compensation for the State's shares will be determined by the average price paid in the market for the rest of the shares, plus an interest based on NIBOR + 1 percent, calculated from the dates of acquisition of the corresponding shares.
In total, up to 5 million shares may be cancelled, equivalent to 1.8 percent of the outstanding shares.
The decision on cancellation must be made with a majority vote of 2/3 of the shares represented at the General Meeting.