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UPDATE 1-Orco shareholder Millenius challenges capital hikes

Published 04/14/2010, 08:08 AM
Updated 04/14/2010, 08:24 AM

* Millenius seeks cancellation of capital hikes

* Says shareholders deprived of chance to buy at discount

* Seeking to remove management at April 26 AGM

* Shares little changed

(Adds details on capital hike, shares)

PRAGUE, April 14 (Reuters) - A major shareholder in Orco Property Group has gone to a Luxembourg court in an attempt to cancel the deeply indebted real estate developer's two recent capital hikes.

Millenius Investments, which held 7.7 percent of Orco before the hikes and along with two other shareholders is trying to remove board members, said on Wednesday it wanted the capital increases announced on April 8 and April 12 to be declared null and void.

Orco, which has been under creditor protection since March last year, sold shares to selected investors at a 25 to 33 percent discount to the trading price.

Orco, a developer of real estate in central and eastern Europe, will hold a extraordinary general meeting on April 26 at the request of Millenius, Clannathorne Stern and Bugle Investments, which want to remove Orco management, including founder and Chairman Jean-Francois Ott.

Together, the three shareholders hold a 10.1 percent voting rights stake in Orco.

"Millenius is of the view that the board does not have the authority to override rules that constrict the removal of pre-emptive subscription rights, rights that are fundamental for all shareholders," it said on Wednesday.

"Less than two weeks before the general assembly planned for April 26, shareholders find themselves in a situation where they are deprived of the possibility of acquiring shares that are being sold at a 30 percent discount to their market price of recent days."

Orco's spokeswoman was unavailable for comment.

Orco said on Monday it had raised 7.1 million euros in a capital hike by placing shares at 5.00 euros each. The sale followed a 6.1 million euro capital increase earlier this month.

Shares listed in Paris traded at 7.80 euros on Wednesday, up 4.7 percent since before the capital increases. They traded 0.7 percent up on the day but were little changed after the Millenius announcement.

Orco is working to restructure more than 400 million euros in debt with bondholders.

Its new restructuring plan, subject to a court approval, looks to extend the average maturity of the bonds to eight years from three.

The company's overall liabilities ended last year at 1.97 billion euros, slightly lower than the 2.04 billion at the end of 2008.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Erica Billingham)

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