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<\/span>Banasino Investments S.\u00e0 r.l.,\u00a0an investment firm based in Nicosia, Cyprus, and affiliated with the Kronospan Group\u00a0has acquired control and direction over 8,356,494\u00a0common shares\u00a0of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.,\u00a0<\/strong>representing approximately\u00a010.28% of the outstanding common shares of West Fraser.<\/p>\n According to a press release, Banasino Investments S.\u00e0 r.l. acquired the common shares of West Fraser for investment purposes and may, depending on market and other conditions, increase its beneficial ownership, control or direction over the common shares of West Fraser through market transactions, private agreements, treasury issuances, exercise of options, convertible securities or otherwise or may sell all or some portion of the common shares of West Fraser it owns, or may continue to hold the common shares of West Fraser.<\/p>\n According to Austrian investigative platform Addendum, Banasino Investments Limited \u201cserves Kronospan as a vehicle for many financial transactions\u201d. Until January 2019, Banasino Investments Limited also had an entry in the Austrian commercial register as the sole shareholder of an East Centro Central Management SE (ECCM SE), which managed the financing of Kronospan\u2019s Eastern European subsidiary.<\/p>\n It has not been disclosed how much Banasino Investments paid for the shares. However, West Fraser\u2019s market capitalization is just under CAD 13 billion (\u20ac9.42 billion). A 10% stake should therefore be worth around CAD 1.3 billion or \u20ac942 million.<\/p>\n One of West Fraser\u2019s key shareholders is Ketcham Investments, a company controlled by the family of West Fraser Chairman Hank Ketcham. The company holds 7.4 million shares, which account for 10.7% of voting shares. Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison holds an even bigger stake. Pattison is said to own 14% of all West Fraser shares.<\/p>\n West Fraser is the second biggest timber company in the world after Canfor, which became the number one in December 2021. The biggest shareholder of the latter is the Jim Pattison Group which holds a 30% stake.<\/p>\n West Fraser is also a major manufacturer of engineered wood. Since February 1, 2021, the company is the new owner of OSB giant Norbord. It was a US-$3.1 billion deal which resulted in the acquisition of the world\u2019s biggest OSB producer. The timing was perfect: OSB prices recorded an extraordinary increase in 2021.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Banasino Investments S.\u00e0 r.l.,\u00a0an investment firm based in Nicosia, Cyprus, and affiliated with the Kronospan Group\u00a0has acquired control and direction over 8,356,494\u00a0common shares\u00a0of West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.,\u00a0representing approximately\u00a010.28% of the outstanding common shares of West Fraser. According to a … Continue reading