Iceland Oy

   Iceland is the most disintegrated market on earth and we await with bated breath the country;s CB receiving a relief loan from Russia.

   Meanwhile Exista, an Iceland investment company, sold its euros 1.65 bn stake in Sampo Oy, which is a Finnish insurance and finance company. Sampo, which has lots of cash to hand bought back about 1% of its own shares at euros 11.50 and the stock closed down at 12 about $16.50. The stock is well below its book value, down 17% (euros 2.42)on the day.

    Exista hired Morgan Stanley and Citi as 'bookbuilders' to help it sell its stake in Sampo, initially a shade under 20% of the stock outstanding. Sample has fallen by a third this year to about euros 6.9 bn in market valution. Of course both Finland and Iceland are small narrow markets where price anomolies proliferate. 

            The Exista bailout followed annoucements by Iceland's leading banks, Kaupthing Bank and Landbank Islands, plus the country's pension funds, that they would sell overseas assets and repatriate the proceeds to bolster the Iceland kronor, which is in free fall.