UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 13D
Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. 21)
Aberdeen Australia Equity Fund, Inc.
(Name of Issuer)
Common Stock, par value $.01 per share
(Title of Class of Securities)
318652104
(CUSIP Number)
Moritz Sell
Landesbank Berlin AG
Alexanderplatz 2
D-10178 Berlin
Germany
+44.20.7572.6200
(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to
Receive Notices and Communications)
February 21, 2008
(Date of Event which Requires Filing of this Statement)
If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of §§240.13d-l(e), 240.13d-l(f) or 240.13d-l(g), check the following box. o
CUSIP No. 889050 10 0
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1. |
Names of Reporting Persons. |
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I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only). | ||
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Landesbank Berlin AG |
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IRS No. |
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2. |
Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) |
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(a) |
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(b) |
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3. |
SEC Use Only |
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4. |
Source of Funds (See Instructions) |
5. Check Box if Disclosure of Legal Proceedings Is Required Pursuant to Items 2(d) or 2(e) o
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6. |
Citizenship or Place of Organization | |
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Federal Republic of Germany |
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Number of |
7. |
Sole Voting Power: 2,396,309 |
Shares Bene-
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ficially |
8. |
Shared Voting Power: |
Owned by Each
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Reporting |
9. |
Sole Dispositive Power: 2,396,309 |
Person with:
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10. |
Shared Dispositive Power: |
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11. |
Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person |
2,396,309 |
12. Check Box if the Aggregate Amount in Row (11) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions)
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13. |
Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (11) |
12.5% |
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14. |
Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions) |
BK |
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This Amendment No. 21 amends and supplements items 2, 4 and 5 of the Statement on Schedule 13D of Landesbank Berlin AG (“LB”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Landesbank Berlin Holding AG (the "Parent"), which is in turn controlled by Erwerbsgesellschaft der S-Finanzgruppe mbH & Co. KG, a German limited partnership (the “Partnership”), with respect to the shares of Common Stock, par value $.01 per share (the "Common Stock"), of the Aberdeen Australia Equity Fund, Inc. (the "Fund"). Statements that are not modified in this amendment are not amended and remain as previously reported.
Item 2. Identity and Background
The general partner of the Partnership is Regionalverbandsgesellschaft mbH, a German limited liability company (“RVG”) owned by several German regional savings bank associations. The amendment to Annex C attached hereto sets forth the name, address and principal occupation of each of the Executive Directors of RVG. Based on the information about such Executive Directors that is available to the Parent and LB pursuant to German law, neither the Parent nor LB is aware of any information to the effect that any such person has during the last five years been a party to any criminal or civil proceeding. All of the individuals listed on Annex C are citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The amendment to Annex B attached hereto sets forth the name, address and principal occupation of each director and executive officer of LB. Based on the information about the persons listed on Annex B that is available to the Parent and LB pursuant to German labor law (including a police certificate of no criminal record), neither the Parent nor LB is aware of any information to the effect that any such person has during the last five years been party to any such criminal or civil proceeding. All of the individuals listed on Annex B are citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Item 4. Purpose of Transaction
As previously reported, the Fund's Board of Directors authorized the preparation and filing by the Fund of a registration statement (the “Registration Statement”), at LB's expense, to register LB's remaining shares of Common Stock for sale in a public offering pursuant to the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement was declared effective on September 14, 2007, and since that date LB has, as it stated its intention to do in Amendment No. 20 to this Statement on Schedule 13D, periodically engaged in at-the-market sales of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the plan of distribution set forth in the Registration Statement. LB’s sales of Common Stock during the last 60 days are set forth in Item 5(c) below.
In addition to sales pursuant to the Registration Statement, LB reserves the right to make additional sales of its shares of Common Stock pursuant to rule 144 under the Securities Act, subject to the rule's filing requirements and limitations on the permitted volume of sales and the manner in which shares may be sold. Depending on market conditions, LB also reserves the right not to engage in sales of shares of Common Stock.
Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer
(a) According to the Fund’s definitive proxy statement filed on February 19, 2008, there were 19,184,686 shares of Common Stock outstanding at February 8, 2008. The percentage set forth in this Item 5(a) is derived using such number. LB has sole power to vote and dispose of 2,396,309 shares of Common Stock, which constitute approximately 12.5% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock.
(c) During the last sixty days, LB has effected the following sales of shares of Common Stock in at-the-market transactions on the American Stock Exchange pursuant to the Registration Statement:
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Date |
Number of Shares |
Price (net of commissions) |
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01/03/2008 |
26,200 |
17.3776 |
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01/08/2008 |
27,732 |
16.7108 |
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01/09/2008 |
500 |
16.3 |
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01/14/2008 |
10,900 |
16.8022 |
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01/15/2008 |
300 |
16.41 |
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01/29/2008 |
10,400 |
15.9118 |
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01/30/2008 |
15,800 |
15.7501 |
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02/20/2008 |
10,000 |
16.1007 |
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02/21/2008 |
24,200 |
16.0702 |
Signature
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of the undersigned’s knowledge and belief, the undersigned certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.
Date: March 6, 2008
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LANDESBANK BERLIN AG |
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By: /s/ Dirk Kipp |
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Name: Dirk Kipp |
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Title: Managing Director | ||
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By: /s/ Moritz Sell |
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Name: Moritz Sell | |||
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Title: |
Director |
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Annex B
Unless otherwise indicated, the business address for all individuals listed in this Annex B is Landesbank Berlin AG, Alexanderplatz 2, D-10178 Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.
Landesbank Berlin AG
Members of the Managing Board
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Name and Address |
Principal Occupation |
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Hans-Jörg Vetter |
Chairman of the Managing Board of |
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Serge Demolière |
Member of the Managing Board of |
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Dr. Johannes Evers |
Member of the Managing Board of |
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Hans Jürgen Kulartz |
Member of the Managing Board of |
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Martin Klaus Müller |
Member of the Managing Board of |
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Dr. Thomas Veit |
Member of the Managing Board of |
Executive Officers
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Name and Address |
Principal Occupation |
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Alt, Volker |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Bauer, Andrea Daniela |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Berentin, Ronald |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Name and Address |
Principal Occupation |
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Boenke, Frank-Michael |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Brummel, Beate |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Burmester, Dr. Christian |
General Manager of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Butzer, Arnold |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Gottschalk, Gudrun |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Hirschhaeuser, Dr. Karl-Friedrich |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Jänichen, Michael |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Kipp, Dirk |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG | |
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Klein, Gerald |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG | |
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Name and Address |
Principal Occupation |
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Lange, Axel |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Pritzsche, Wolfgang |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Reutter, Dr. Georg |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Richardt, Claus-Günther |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Scheer, Heinz-Günter |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Schölper, Siegfried |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Schroeder, Bartho |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Thanheiser, Michael |
Managing Director of Landesbank Berlin AG |
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Annex C
Regionalverbandsgesellschaft mbH
Executive Directors
Unless otherwise indicated, the business address for all individuals listed in this Annex C is Regionalverbandsgesellschaft mbH, Charlottenstrasse 47, D-10117 Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany.
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Name and Address |
Principal Occupation |
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Manfred Üffing |
Managing Director at Sparkassen- und Giroverband Hessen-Thüringen |
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Carsten Steffan |
Department Head at Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverbandes e.V. (German savings bank association) (“DSGVeV”) |
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Dr. Michael Schieble |
Department Head at DSGVeV |
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