Reaching record-breaking investor activity in the history of Latvia, the initial public offering (IPO) of shares of the largest and fastest growing domestic fuel and alternative energy trader JSC Virši-A (hereinafter – Virši) has ended, which will be followed by the planned listing of shares on the First North alternative market of the Nasdaq Riga Stock Exchange. A total of 9,979 investors applied for 1,735,489 new Virši shares within the IPO, the demand almost doubling the base offer. Interest in the company's shares was among both institutional and private investors, resulting in raising capital of 7.8 million euros (including shares of additional offer).
Almost half or 4,732 investors who have subscribed for Virši shares are from Latvia, 5,128 investors from Estonia and 97 investors from Lithuania. Out of a total of 9,979 investors, 15 are institutional investors. Most of the total number of subscriptions - 60% - will receive the number of shares subscribed for.
"We are pleased with the results and the great activity of investors. One of the goals of the company's IPO was to reach as many investors as possible, and it is a great pleasure to see that almost 10,000 new shareholders will join the company this week. We are convinced that this will ensure positive further development of the company's market share.
I would like to express my gratitude to the entire Virši team, working selflessly throughout the year to implement the most successful IPO in the history of Latvia. We also appreciate every investor who has shown confidence in the company's historical results and invested his/her funds in the future development of Virši. The raised capital will promote the development of the company to a new level, facilitating the improvement of alternative fuel infrastructure on the Latvian market, and will help to achieve the goal of Virši to become the leading market player in the next 3-5 years.
We keep working - now all together!” emphasized Jānis Vība, the Chairman of the Management Board of Virši.
"Although Estonia had the largest number of investors, I was really pleased to see that the Latvian investors convincingly outperformed the Estonian investors in the amount of shares requested. This proves that domestic companies with a good reputation and big plans have the ability to take further development steps by joining together with the local population,” says Ivars Bergmanis, the Head of Institutional Markets of LHV Bank.
It is planned that the trading of Virši shares on the First North alternative market of Nasdaq Riga Stock Exchange will start already this week from November 11.
The largest share of investors is formed by the customers of LHV bank (33%), followed by Swedbank Latvija (25%), Swedbank Estonia (12%) and Citadele (10%). During the IPO, investors subscribed for 1,735,489 new shares, and the price per share was set at 4.49 euros. Owing to the capital raised by the IPO in the amount of 7.8 million euros, Virši plans to develop alternative fuels to improve its offer and infrastructure by promoting the availability of compressed natural gas (CNG), biomethane and LNG (liquefied natural gas), as well as the availability of electric vehicle chargers in Latvia. It is also planned to pay significant attention to increasing the sustainability and efficiency of the company's operations.
Additional information about Virši road to the stock exchange and future development plans are available on the virsi.lv website in the section Investors: https://www.virsi.lv/investoriem
As a result of the transaction, as of November 11, more than 7,490 investors will be entitled to apply for the shareholder loyalty programme by filling in the application form in the Investors section of the virsi.lv website.
The financial advisors of the Virši IPO process are LHV Bank and the law firm Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns.
The Virši prospectus approved by the Financial and Capital Market Commission is available on the website: https://www.virsi.lv/investoriem
About Virši:
AS Virši-A is the largest and fastest growing domestic fuel trader, with 26 years of experience in the Latvian fuel trade sector. Today, the Virši-A network has more than 63 service stations, of which 61 are full-service, and employs more than 627 people in all regions of Latvia.
Additional information:
Undīne Priekule
Virši communication specialist
Phone: 26141219
E-mail: undine.priekule@virsi.lv
www.virsi.lv
