"Some of the company's shareholders decided to take measures to boost the liquidity of Wimm-Bill-Dann shares on the Russian stock market by offering up to 4.4 million common shares," the company said in a statement.
The statement said Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods, whose charter capital is valued at 880 million rubles ($32.8 million), divided into 44 million common shares with a nominal value of 20 rubles each, will not participate in selling its shares during the proposed secondary public offering, and will not receive any of the proceeds from it.
David Yakobashvili, the company's board chairman, said: "I am not selling any shares, but I support my long-time partners in their drive to create additional liquidity of Wimm-Bill-Dann's shares on the Russian market."
Troika Dialog investment company has been chosen as the sole organizer of the offering.
Founded in 1992, Wimm-Bill-Dann owns 30 production enterprises in Russia and the CIS. It holds a diversified portfolio of brands accounting for over 1,000 dairy products and more than 150 types of juices and cold drinks.
The company, which currently employs more than 17,000 personnel, became the first Russian consumer goods producer to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2002.
