The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) on Wednesday announced that it is holding monetary amounts on behalf of individuals who were shareholders in listed companies that were subject to public takeover bids where the squeeze-out right was exercised.

These amounts, the announcement stated, relate to completed public offers where the bidder acquired full ownership of the targeted company through the legal process provided for under the Law on Public Takeover Bids.

The CSE clarified that money from past takeovers, which could not be paid to the rightful shareholders, has been placed in a special bank account.

This was done by the offer managers according to the official rules for public offers and squeeze-outs.

These amounts remain available to the rightful recipients, subject to the submission of a written request to the CSE and the fulfilment of the relevant conditions specified in the Regulatory Decision.

The payment of the consideration is carried out only after the request has been reviewed and accepted by the CSE.

The exchange said that if the shares were pledged or restricted, the money owed for them is still tied up by those same conditions. This follows the rules set out in Article 10.2 of the regulatory guidelines.

It added that in cases where cheques have not been redeemed, the corresponding funds are transferred from the offer manager to the CSE, which retains them until a relevant request is submitted by the beneficiary or their legal successors in accordance with the procedure outlined in the relevant articles.

The CSE called on all eligible individuals to take the necessary steps to submit a request for the recovery of the consideration owed to them, in accordance with the provisions of the regulatory decision.

Relevant application forms can be found via the following link: Law on the Central Depository/Registry and its associated Regulations and Regulatory Decisions: Appendix 10 – Consideration Collection Request, Appendix 11 – Waiver of Consideration, Appendix 12 – Collection Request by Pledgee Lender.

Finally, the announcement stated that if the shares are not pledged or restricted, the rightful owner must send a written request to the Cyprus Stock Exchange along with a copy of their ID.