UPPSALA, Sweden, May 08, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Biacore International AB (Biacore) (SSE:BCOR) (Nasdaq:BCOR) today announced that today's Annual General Meeting was attended by 30 shareholders, representing 56 percent of the total number of shares and votes in the Company.
The meeting decided that no dividend should be paid but that unrestricted shareholders' equity should be carried forward in its entirety as retained earnings.
The meeting reelected the board members, i.e. Mr. Lars-Goran Andren, Dr. Gordon Edge, Mr. Tom Erixon, Dr. Ulf Jonsson, Mr. Donald R. Parfet, Mr. Mats Pettersson and Dr. Marc Van Regenmortel and elected Mr. Magnus Lundberg, President of Pharmacia Diagnostics AB, as new member of the board. The unions had nominated Mrs. Anna Hansson and Mr. Markku Hamalainen as their representatives on the board and Mr. Hans Sjobom and Mrs. Eva-Lotta Hedstrom as deputies.
The meeting decided to establish a nomination committee with the task to propose to the General Meeting of Shareholders (i) the number of board directors to be elected, (ii) the election of board directors and (iii) remuneration to the board directors.
The meeting decided, in accordance with the board's proposal, that, as part of its incentive program, the Company shall issue one debenture with a nominal value of SEK 1,000 with a total of 80,000 detachable subscription rights for new shares (warrants) in the Company. Each subscription right gives the holder the right to subscribe for one share, with a nominal value of SEK 10, in the Company during the period 15 May, 2002 to 31 May, 2007. The subscription price shall be equivalent to 100 percent of the average price paid for the Company's shares listed on Stockholmsborsen during the period 29 April, 2002 to 14 May, 2002.
The increase of the Company's share capital corresponds to a dilution of app. 0.8 percent (app. 7.6 percent totally together with the incentive programs decided in 2000 and 2001).
Employee options shall be issued free of charge to employees within the Biacore group. The board will decide on the allotment in each individual case. No more than 4,000 options shall be issued to senior management (except managing director and deputy managing director who are not entitled to receive options within this year's program), no more than 2,000 to other key employees and no more than 500 to other employees.
About Biacore
Biacore is a global market leader in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) based biosensor technology with its own operations in the U.S., across Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. A strong patent portfolio protects Biacore's technology. Target groups consist primarily of medical and life science research laboratories and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies all over the world. Biacore focuses on drug discovery as its prime area for future growth. Based in Uppsala, Sweden, the Company is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exhange and Nasdaq in the U.S.
Further information on Biacore can be found on the web: www.biacore.com
Address and phone: Biacore International AB Rapsgatan 7, SE-754 50 Uppsala, SWEDEN Phone: +46 (0)18-67 57 00 Fax: +46 (0)18-15 01 10 e-mail: info@biacore.com
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