SAO PAULO, Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo - SABESP (BM&FBovespa: SBSP3; NYSE: SBS), one of the largest water and sewage service provider in the world based on the number of customers,pursuant to Instruction 358 issued by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) on January 3, 2002, as amended, hereby informs its shareholders and the market in general that, at a meeting held on January 10, 2013, its Board of Directors approved (i) the change in the number of shares backing the Company's American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), traded on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), from the current two (2) common shares for each ADR to one (1) common share for each ADR in order to increase these papers' liquidity, and (ii) the proposed split of common shares issued by SABESP, in a proportion to be defined by its management, which will then be submitted for evaluation by the shareholders of SABESP through an extraordinary shareholders' meeting and will result, upon approval, in the change of Article 3 of the SABESP Bylaws, given that the number of shares representing the Company's capital stock will be altered based on the proportion to be defined.
Regarding the change in the backing of ADRs mentioned above, the Company announces that today it has sent a communication to the Bank of New York Mellon, the depositary institution of the Company's ADRs in the United States ("Depositary Institution"), informing them of said change. As a result, the Depositary Institution will issue new ADRs and distribute them to the ADR holders in accordance with a timetable that will be timely disclosed to the market.
IR Contacts:
Mario Arruda Sampaio: (55 11) 3388-8664 (maasampaio@sabesp.com.br)
Angela Beatriz Airoldi: (55 11) 3388-8793 (abairoldi@sabesp.com.br)
SOURCE SABESP
