Thursday, September 06, 2001
Offering of Ahold shares will raise approximately Euro 2.2 billion, excluding underwriters option
Zaandam, The Netherlands, September 6, 2001 - Ahold, the international food retail and foodservice company, today announced that the subscription for the equity offering of its new common shares issue closed last night ahead of schedule.
The total proceeds of the offering will amount to approximately Euro 2.2 billion, excluding the 15% option granted to the underwriter. Ahold will use the net proceeds to partially finance the proposed acquisitions of Alliant Foodservice, Inc. and Brunos Supermarkets, Inc.
Price per common share set at Euro 31.90
The offering price per common share has been set at Euro 31.90 and per ADS at USD 28.38. The closing price of the Ahold shares on Euronext Amsterdam on September 5, 2001 was Euro 32.03 and the closing price of the Ahold ADSs on the NYSE was USD 28.52. Ahold will issue 70 million new common shares for a total value of approximately Euro 2.2 billion, excluding the underwriters option.
Listing and prospectus supplement
The new common shares are expected to be listed on the stock markets of Amsterdam, New York (in the form of ADSs) and Zurich effective September 11, 2001. After the offering, the company will have approximately 902 million common shares outstanding, excluding the underwriters option.
For the purpose of the public offering of the ADSs in the United States, a prospectus supplement to the prospectus included in the shelf registration statement already on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to be filed with the SEC on September 6, 2001.
The prospectus supplement (including the documents incorporated by reference therein) and the related prospectus will be available at Aholds corporate headquarters in Zaandam, The Netherlands, and on the Ahold website (www.ahold.com), on or about the time of filing of the prospectus supplement with the SEC.
ABN AMRO Rothschild, Goldman Sachs International and Merrill Lynch International were joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offering. ING Barings, Kempen & Co. and Rabo Securities acted as co-managers.
Ahold
Ahold currently operates approximately 8,600 supermarkets, hypermarkets and other store formats in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The company has a significant presence in the foodservice sector and is developing a range of other products, including financial services and internet-based home delivery. Ahold employs approximately 420,000 people in 25 countries. Aholds website can be found at www.ahold.com. The information on the Ahold website is not incorporated by reference into this press release.
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This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including prevailing market conditions.
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