OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2009. A major shareholder of Astarta Holding V. Korotkov sold 5% of the Company shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. As a result, as of 14 December 2009, 40.19% of Astarta shares belonged to Mr. V. Ivanchik, 35.19% was in possession of Mr. V. Korotkov, while the Company’s free float increased form 19.62% to 24.62%.

Millennium Capital sees the news to be neutral for Astarta, since the Company share price is mainly dependent on the sugar price trend and the Company operating activities, rather than on the change in its ownership structure. Though the AST price decreased by 3.9% since 11 December, Millennium Capital expects it to recover in the nearest future due to an expected sugar price rise of around 9% in 1Q 2010.