Central Bank agrees to acquisition of Armenian Stock Exchange by Warsaw Stock Exchange
At its May 24 sitting, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia gave its consent to the acquisition of the Armenian Stock Exchange by the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the bank said in a statement.
According to the agreement, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) will acquire 65.03% of shares of the Armenian Stock Exchange (AMX) (967 shares in total). The Central Bank of Armenia will maintain 25.02% of shares, and the remaining 9.95% are the AMX's own shares. The value of the transaction will be about AMD 873 million, a part of which (about AMD 499 million) will be paid after signing the Share Purchase Agreement, and the rest, after completion of processes established by the Share Purchase Agreement.
The GPW announced about its plans to acquire the AMX in September 2020, after which necessary studies were carried out, a development plan for the next five years was developed, and necessary corporate approvals were obtained.
The Board of the Central Bank stresses the importance of the entry of the WFB as an institutional investor into the Armenian financial market, which will give an impetus to the development of Armenian capital market, and will foster integration of Armenian and Polish capital markets, opening new opportunities for both the Armenian companies and the investors.
Development program prepared by the GPW provides for a number of measures aimed at the improvement of capital market infrastructure, including development of the trading system, expansion of the stock exchange and the Central Depository services, as well as introduction of state-of-the-art technological solutions.