Bancolombia S.A. Announces That the Superior Court of Bogota Dismisses the Annulment Action Filed by the Bank
2008年3月6日 - 11:20AM
PRニュース・ワイアー (英語)
MEDELLIN, Colombia, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today the
Superior Court of Bogota dismissed a complaint filed by Bancolombia
S.A. ("Bancolombia") on February 17, 2004 that sought the annulment
of a January 30, 2004 arbitral award (the "Arbitral Award") of
compensation to a class of minority shareholders of the former
Banco de Colombia. The court rejected the grounds for annulment
advanced by Bancolombia. Under the Arbitral Award, shareholders of
the former Banco de Colombia will be entitled to compensation if
they: (i) fulfill the requirements established in articles 55 and
66 of Law 472 of 1998, (ii) fulfill the requirements established in
the Arbitral Award, (iii) timely became parties to the class action
or have timely accepted the outcome of the Arbitral Award, and (iv)
have not elected to be excluded from the Class Action or its
outcome. Bancolombia notes that it has taken a provision in its
financial statements for the full amount of the compensation
awarded and that payment of the Arbitral Award will have no
material effect on its financial statements. Background of the
Proceedings An arbitral tribunal (the "Arbitral Tribunal") was
formed after Mr. Luis Alberto Duran Valencia and other minority
shareholders filed a complaint against Bancolombia and some of its
majority shareholders in the context of the merger between Banco de
Colombia and Bancolombia. The Arbitral Tribunal rendered the
Arbitral Award on January 30, 2004, rejected most of the claims of
Mr. Duran Valencia and the other plaintiffs, and released the
shareholders of Bancolombia of all liability. The Arbitral Tribunal
found that Bancolombia's actions in the acquisition of, and
subsequent merger with, Banco de Colombia were in compliance with
the law and with the authorizations granted by the government
authorities. The Arbitral Tribunal, however, ordered Bancolombia to
compensate shareholders of the former Banco de Colombia for certain
asserted damages. According to the Arbitral Tribunal, these former
shareholders of Banco de Colombia were damaged by an alleged
shortfall in the capitalization of Bancolombia after the merger in
1998. The Arbitral Tribunal estimated the damages to be Ps. 14,646
million, which, with interest, amounted at the time of the Arbitral
Award to Ps. 22.408 million. After subtracting certain fees and
expenses awarded to Bancolombia by the Arbitral Tribunal,
Bancolombia was directed to pay Ps.19,213 million. Bancolombia
notes that one of the arbitrators, Mr. Rafael H. Gamboa, dissented
from the majority decision of the Arbitral Tribunal. Mr. Gamboa
concluded that the conduct of Bancolombia during the merger was
entirely in accordance with the applicable laws and the
authorizations by governmental authorities and that Bancolombia
owed no compensation to the complaining shareholders. Bancolombia
filed the complaint seeking annulment of the Arbitral Award on
February 17, 2004. The Annulment Complaint sought annulment on the
grounds set forth in sections 6 and 7 of article 163 of Decree 1818
of 1998. DATASOURCE: Bancolombia S.A. CONTACT: Sergio Restrepo,
Executive VP, +574-5108668, or Jaime A. Velasquez, Financial VP,
+574-5108666, or Juan Esteban Toro, IR Manager, +574-510-8866, all
for Bancolombia S.A. Web site: http://www.bancolombia.com.co/
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