THAI stake in Nok dilutes to 16% after new share issue

Nok Air has completed a Bt2.3b (US$73.3m) capital raising exercise, which has diluted THAI's stake in the budget carrier from 21.8% to 16%. The exercise closed on 6 February, with existing shareholders allocated one new share for every 2.5 shares held. The new shares were priced at Bt2.75, Nok states in a 13 February stock exchange disclosure. That represents a notable premium over Nok's recent share price, which closed at Bt2.28 on 13 February. Out of the 909m shares allocated, around 837m were taken up. The remainder are set to be distributed to other shareholders. Thai Airways states in a separate disclosure that it waived its right to subscribe up to 198m of Nok shares, which would have cost it up to Bt545m, resulting in the dilution of its stake. <br/>