A shareholders meeting at steel firm VSŽ elected a new supervisory board yesterday, with a trio of financial groups – J & T, Penta Group and Istrokapital – inserting their candidates on the new board. The three firms collectively acquired a 26.55 per cent stake in VSŽ in a non-transparent deal in the last hour of trading on the stock exchange last year. They have promised to squeeze more profits out of VSŽ in the three to five years they intend to hold the shares, and to put more of their people in key VSŽ positions, including the president’s chair. By lowering VSŽ’s basic capital by Sk10.8 billion to Sk5.6 billion to cover Sk9.6 billion in VSŽ losses from previous years, the shareholders also removed a legal barrier to VSŽ’s paying out dividends.
Compiled by Tom Nicholson from press reports.
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