The young Brno company Stock Convertor operates the Forgotten Billions service, which seeks out shares and dividends from the coupon privatization era of the 1990s. According to estimates, the startup costs up to 10 billion crowns.
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People either forgot about them or didn’t even have a chance to find out about them, because the coupon book was originally owned by their late relatives. “The estimated value of the found shares and related receivables amounts to 342 million crowns,” said Daniel Surmař, author of the Forgotten Billions project.
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After the startup finds the shares and receivables, it makes an offer to the owner to buy, for which it charges a fee. He promises that people will not pay more than 15 percent of the value of the property found on the fee. “Shares worth approximately 41 million crowns are in the process of repurchase. The process is administratively demanding, and thanks to the holidays, interaction with clients is slower, “added Surmař.
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The shares found are mostly (80 percent) non-publicly traded companies. For example, Brno Waterworks and Sewerage, Vrbátky Sugar Factory, Poděbrady Spa, Metrostav or Prague Energy. However, a smaller part of publicly traded companies is more valuable, for example the semi – state energy company ČEZ, the telecommunications operator O2, Komerční banka or Philip Morris.
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Expiration of a savings bank or Unipetrol
By the autumn of this year, however, people who have forgotten that they own shares in Česká spořitelna and Unipetrol will lose the claims associated with share ownership. The three-year limitation period expires, after which the minority shareholders will lose not only the right to consideration for the crowding out, but also all dividends not yet collected.
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“In the case of the petrochemical company Unipetrol, the deadline expires on September 30, the claims of the displaced shareholders of Česká spořitelna will be lost on November 5,” said Surmař. Another company to which the limitation period applies is the telecommunications operator O2who is going to crowd out minority shareholders in the fall.
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In her case, according to Surmar, there are shares in the unclassified accounts of roughly 250 million crowns in uncollected dividends and claims for compensation for crowding out. In total, the statute of limitations threatens claims for more than a billion crowns.
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How many were found
- the average amount found is 25 to 30 thousand crowns
- out of about 100,000 registered people, the startup found valuable receivables in about every ninth case
- so far the highest amount found exceeded 400 thousand crowns and traveled to the Zlín region
- the estimated value of the found shares and related receivables amounts to CZK 342 million
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The service is operated by the fintech startup Stock Convertor founder Daniel Surmar. The company Brno Technology Accelerator, which provided startup seed financing of up to 25 million crowns for the start-up of the company, helps with the development and financing of the project.
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However, additional money will be needed for the redemption of found shares or dividend claims, which will be provided by two Brno entrepreneurs, Ladislav Chodák and Jiří Marek. Chodák is known for his work at Aukro and currently invests in technology companies and also chairs the Board of Directors of the Brno Regional Chamber of Commerce. Marek works in the engineering industry, for example in the management of Blickle.
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The company does not expect a profit this year. The publicly traded shares that it buys will be held and gradually sold in the coming years. Conversely, shares traded on the stock exchange will sell sooner. “Currently, we can talk about the fact that the current registrations should cover the costs of service development, but we have high operating costs and we still have large marketing expenses until the end of the year,” added Surmař.
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How much money is in privatization accounts?
– Estimate of the value of unpaid dividends not yet expired on unclassified property accounts (as of 1 May 2021) – CZK 2.3 billion.
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– Estimate of the value of unpaid (and at the same time not yet expired) other receivables (consideration for crowding out shareholders, etc.), which relate to shares that the owners no longer have on the property accounts, but are still entitled to their payment – CZK 2.6 billion.
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– Estimate of the amount lost by the owners of unclassified property accounts over the last 15 years due to forgetting their shares – CZK 7.3 billion in dividends; CZK 2.6 billion on other receivables.
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Source: Forgotten Billions
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