Popular announces 1-for-10 reverse stock split
Banco Popular
Popular Inc. announced Monday that its stockholders approved a proposed 1-for-10 reverse split of its common stock, which is expected to become effective May 29.
Once the reverse stock split is in place, stockholders will receive one new share of Popular common stock for every 10 shares they hold. Popular’s common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis when the market opens May 30.
The transaction was approved during an Apr. 27 stockholders meeting in San Juan.
The reverse stock split is expected to lead Popular’s common stock to trade at approximately ten times the price per share at which it trades prior to the effectiveness of the reverse stock split.
“Popular, however, cannot assure that the price of its common stock after the reverse split will reflect the 1-for-10 reverse split ratio, that the price per share following the effective time of the reverse split will be maintained for any period of time, or that the price will remain above the pre-split trading price,” the bank said Monday.
The reverse-stock split was approved together with a corresponding reduction in the number of authorized shares of common stock from 1.7 billion to 170 million.
As of Feb. 27, 2012, there were approximately 1,026,699,926 shares of Popular’s common stock outstanding. Effecting the 1-for-10 reverse split will reduce that amount to approximately 102,669,992.
The reverse split will not change the number of shares of Popular’s authorized preferred stock, which will remain at 30,000,000 shares, the bank noted.
3 board directors re-elected
During last week’s stockholder’s meeting, current Popular Inc. board members Richard Carrión, who is Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Corporation, Alejandro Ballester and Carlos Unanue, members of the Board since 2010, will serve three-year terms expiring in 2015.
Meanwhile, Director David Goel will serve a one-year term expiring in 2013. Goel replaces Michael Masin, who resigned effective Dec. 31, 2011
