The Annual General Meeting of Konecranes will be held today, Thursday 12 March 2009 starting at 11 am Finnish time at the Company’s auditorium in Hyvinkää, Finland.
The Board of Directors of Konecranes Plc has decided to withdraw its proposals on authorizing the board to decide on the repurchase of the company’s own shares and authorizing the board to decide on the issuance of shares as well as other special rights entitling to shares. The proposals that were the items 16 and 17 in the Notice to the General Meeting are enclosed to this release.
The decision to withdraw the proposals was made as the Board of Directors was informed about the instructions from certain foreign shareholders to their representatives to vote against the proposals.
In Hyvinkää, March 12, 2009
Konecranes Plc
The Board of Directors
Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity-enhancing lifting solutions as well as services for lifting equipment and machine tools of all makes. In 2008, Group sales totaled EUR 2,103 million. The Group has 9,900 employees, in 485 locations in 43 countries. Konecranes is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd (symbol: KCR1V).
FURTHER INFORMATION
Ms Sirpa Poitsalo, Director, General Counsel, tel. +358 20 427 2011
DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd
Media
www.konecranes.com
ATTACHMENT
16. Authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of the Company’s own shares
The Board of Directors proposes to the General Meeting that the Board of Directors be authorized to decide on the repurchase of the Company’s own shares as follows:
The amount of own shares to be repurchased shall not exceed 12,000,000 shares, which corresponds to approximately 19.5 % of all of the shares in the Company. However, the Company together with its subsidiaries cannot at any moment own more than 10 per cent of all the shares in the Company. Only the unrestricted equity of the Company can be used to repurchase own shares on the basis of the authorization.
Own shares can be repurchased at a price formed in public trading on the date of the repurchase or otherwise at a price formed on the market.
The Board of Directors decides how own shares will be repurchased. Own shares can be repurchased using, inter alia, derivatives. Own shares can be repurchased otherwise than in proportion to the shareholdings of the shareholders (directed repurchase).
The authorization cancels the authorization given by the General Meeting on 13 March 2008 to decide on the repurchase of the Company’s own shares.
The authorization is effective until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, however no longer than until 11 September 2010.
17. Authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the issuance of shares as well as the issuance of options and other special rights entitling to shares
The Board of Directors proposes to the General Meeting that the Board of Directors be authorized to decide on the issuance of shares as well as the issuance of options and other special rights entitling to shares referred to in chapter 10 section 1 of the Finnish Companies Act as follows:
The amount of shares to be issued based on this authorization shall not exceed 18,000,000 shares, which corresponds to approximately 29.2 % of all of the shares in the Company.
The Board of Directors decides on all the conditions of the issuance of shares and of special rights entitling to shares. The authorization does not concern decisions regarding stock option programs for the personnel but it can be used to create other share-based incentive programs. The authorization concerns both the issuance of new shares as well as the transfer of treasury shares. The issuance of shares and of special rights entitling to shares may be carried out in deviation from the shareholders’ pre-emptive rights (directed issue).
The authorization cancels the authorization given by the General Meeting on 13 March 2008 to decide on the transfer of treasury shares, the issuance of shares as well as the issuance of options and other special rights entitling to shares.
The authorization is effective until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, however no longer than until 11 September 2010.
