PRESS RELEASE: Management change at Ukraina Shopping Center
Kyiv, November 7, 2011. Today an extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders in PAT Univermag Ukraina, a public company, took place, at the request of the main shareholder, Quinn Holdings Sweden AB (92.75%). The General Meeting of Shareholders relieved the director Larysa Yanez Puga from her duties and appointed Rostyslav Levinson as acting director. In addition, the shareholders voted for a complete change in the members of the supervisory board and oversight commission. The decision to hold an extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders was made by Quinn Holdings Sweden AB (QHS) because of the need to resolve urgent issues involving company management and, among others, to replace the current managers and officers. The majority shareholder was faced with serious misunderstandings in working with the company's management who, in the opinion of QHS, did not serve the company's interests and jeopardized the shareholder's exercise of its lawful rights. The conflict arose back in April 2011, when the director filed suit against the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), which is now owned by the Irish state and which had handled the deal for shares in Ukraina Shopping Center worth nearly US$80 million. IBRC's claim is secured, among others, by the mortgage on the Ukraina Shopping Center building and the shares owned by Quinn Holdings Sweden AB. The lawsuit claimed that the mortgage for the building of Ukraina was invalid. The case was turned over to Judge Stanik, who sustained the claim pending a hearing and issued a stay on IBRC, prohibiting it from foreclosing on the building. At the same time, YurBiznesKonsalting, a local law firm, sued Quinn Holdings Sweden AB over an alleged debt for legal services in the amount of UAH 1.8 million, or around US $250,000. Based on a system of random distribution of court cases to individual judges, this case also happened to go to Judge Stanik, who once again sustained the claim pending a hearing and placed a seizure on all shares belonging to Quinn Holdings Sweden AB. The market value of these shares is over US $50 million. In the opinion of IBRC's legal counsel, EPAP, the real purpose of these two lawsuits is to establish a fictive third-party debt on the part of Ukraina Shopping Center and to force the business into bankruptcy. The hearings in both cases are scheduled for November 8, 2011. The Ukraina director at this point aggravated the situation by moving into physical confrontation. The press reported that late in the evening on October 25, an attempt was made to change the security guards at the shopping center. The situation was rectified by the police from the Interior Ministry, who acted quickly to prevent a new security firm from taking control of the premises. Quinn Holdings Sweden AB decided that the only way out of such a situation was to call an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of PAT Univermag Ukraina, a public company. On the initiative of Quinn Holdings Sweden AB, the agenda included the review of a report from the company's director, Larysa Yanez Puga, on her activities while in this position during 2010 and 2011, as well as a report from the Supervisory Board and Oversight Commission for the entire period of activity in their current composition. However, none of the management bodies provided such reports. With this, the General Meeting of Shareholders relieved the director from her duties and appointed Rostyslav Levinson acting director. In addition, the shareholders voted for a complete change in the members of the supervisory board and oversight commission. Commenting on the situation, Quinn Holdings Sweden AB's stated, "Today, despite attempts on the part of certain individuals to set up obstacles to the holding of this General Meeting of Shareholders, we were able to exercise our lawful rights as the main shareholder of PAT Univermag Ukraina. We anticipate that the decisions made today will have a positive impact on the company's further activity." Quinn Holdings Sweden AB was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Stockholm. Quinn Holdings Sweden AB (QHS) is the majority shareholder of PAT Univermag Ukraine, a publicly held company in Kyiv, Ukraine. Currently holding nearly 93% of the company's stock, QHS is acting to exercise its lawful right to participate in managing the company and is calling for a change in the current management of the shopping center, with whom there have been serious misunderstandings on the part of the shareholder. IBRC (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation) is a financial institution that is fully owned by the Republic of Ireland and thus, indirectly, by all Irish taxpayers. Prior to a name change on Oct. 14, 2011, IBRC was known as the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Limited. Originally, the Bank financed the acquisition of a major commercial property in Kyiv worth a total of nearly US $150 million. For additional information, contact: Oleksiy Syvak, Senior Advisor, CFC Consulting (+38044) 492 7599 or os@cfc.com.ua The press release has been issued on commercial terms. The Interfax-Ukraine News Agency is not responsible for its contents.