The minister explained that currently there are no negotiations with the strategic investor of “airBaltic” about the sale of a controlling stake, but about obtaining a minority stake before the IPO or on the way to the IPO, as well as possibly participating in the IPO. “The state condition agreed by the government on Friday is that the state should retain at least 25% plus one share after the IPO, which is this blocking minority,” Brisken said.
Commenting on whether this means that after the IPO process, Latvia is ready to give up the controlling stake in “airBaltic”, he confirmed it.
“If in this way we can ensure both the entry of a strategic investor and the attraction of sufficient capital for the IPO, then today’s decision provides for this. If the company is able to take enough capital in the framework of the IPO to realize its existing business plan, while attracting the strategic investor and the state without investing in an IPO, the state is ready to support the preservation of this type of participation in the amount of a blocking minority,” the minister added.
On the other hand, airBaltic board chairman Klāvs Vasks added that the government on Friday supported airBaltic’s plan to continue the airline’s IPO with all preparations, including that airBaltic will continue negotiations with the strategic investor as a prerequisite for the IPO to take place.
“At the moment, there are no comments on the direct distribution of shares, because in every investment process there is a market about the valuation of the company, about the value, how much the investment amount is in exchange for the shares of the company. The negotiations are ongoing, because the company is trying to maximize the benefit of the state, which we want to achieve from the strategic investor ,” said Vasks.
Also, Vasks informed that decisions were made regarding further homework for “airBaltic” in order for the IPO to be successful – consolidation of share capital and relevant decisions to be submitted to the Company Register. A conceptual decision was also made that the company does not require any additional investment from the state, and scenarios where the state could invest something in the IPO process are not considered. “Of course, without excluding different development scenarios,” he added.
Commenting on whether the IPO process and the attraction of a strategic investor are separate processes, Vasks said that the attraction of an investor is an ongoing process, but the IPO cannot take place without the attraction of a strategic investor.
He did not provide further comments on the identity of the investor, stating that the negotiation process is underway. “The plan to test the IPO market is at the beginning of the fourth quarter of this year. This means that the period of time to agree with the investor is the next couple of months,” he mentioned.
LETA already announced that a strategic investor, whose name has not yet been disclosed, has shown interest in “airBaltic” shares before the potential IPO.
According to Brišken, this is good news, because the investor could participate in the minority package of “airBaltic” capital, and then, accordingly, they could jointly move towards the IPO.
On the other hand, the president of “airBaltic” Martins Gauss stated in the middle of August that he will continue negotiations with the potential investor before the IPO about the possible progress of the process in the second half of this year. On the other hand, the representatives of the airline did not provide more information about the strategic investor, stating that the negotiations are still ongoing and they will be able to provide more information about it later.
It has already been reported that “airBaltic” transported a total of 4.536 million passengers last year, which is 35.7% more than in 2022, and made 44,100 flights, which is 18.3% more than the year before.
The audited turnover of “airBaltic” last year amounted to 664.289 million euros, which is 33.2% more than in 2022, and the company also made a profit of 33.852 million euros, in contrast to losses a year earlier.
The Latvian state owns 97.97% of “airBaltic” shares, while “Aircraft Leasing 1” owned by financial investor, Danish businessman Lars Tūsen – 2.03%.
2024-08-31 05:20:32