Belgian De Post/La Poste to cut capital to 270 mln Euro
Belgian postal service company De Post/La Poste plans to decrease its capital to 270 mln euro ($315.7 mln) from 603.6 mln euro ($705.8 mln), Bruno Tuybens, the Belgian Secretary of State for Public Enterprise, said on November 12, 2005, confirming media reports.
The capital reduction is a ‘routine accounting practice’, Tuybens added.
The move is not linked with the planned deal, in which a consortium led by Danish post office Post Danmark will buy a stake in De Post/La Poste, nor with the amount distributed by the postal company to the Belgian government, Tuybens said.
According to the secretary, the capital decrease should cover losses, accumulated by the postal carrier in the past.
A consortium around Post Danmark, will buy a 50 pct-minus-one-share stake in Belgian postal service for 300 mln euro ($350.8 mln). It was said that if it were not for the capital decrease, the investors would have had to table a much higher offer.
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