Subscription for Virši shares begins today as part of the IPO

  • 2021-10-25

Today, 25 October at 10:00 EEST, the fastest growing and Latvian capital-based fuel and alternative energy trader Virši (AS Virši-A and related group companies) launches an initial public offering (IPO) of shares, which will be followed by the planned admission to trading of the shares on the Nasdaq Riga First North Market. For two weeks – from 25 October to 5 November, anyone in the Baltic states can subscribe for the shares. 

Private and institutional investors will have an opportunity to subscribe for a total of 1,509,121 new company shares. The total number of shares may be increased by another 226,368 additional shares in case of high demand, thus the total number offered may reach up to 1,735,489 shares. The price per one share is EUR 4.49 and the minimum subscription amount is one share.

It is expected that Virši group employees subscribing for shares will be guaranteed the first 50 thousand shares available in the IPO. In turn, each investor who will subscribe for shares in the first week of the offer, i.e. until 16:00 EEST on 29 October, is guaranteed an allotment of up to 100 shares. Interested parties also have an opportunity to apply for a larger number of shares, which will ensure that after the distribution of shares at the end of the IPO, their chances of receiving a proportionately higher total number of shares increases, if the total demand exceeds the number of IPO shares available during the subscription period.

Those investors who will own 100 or more shares will be able to become members of the Virši shareholders’ benefit programme, which provides special offers for the purchase of fuel and other goods in the Virši station network. For example, a 7-cent discount per litre of fuel, a 30% discount on snacks and coffee, as well as car care products, windscreen washer fluid and car wash services.

As a result of the IPO, Virši plans to attract new capital of up to 6.9 million euros, directing most of the funding to improving the supply and infrastructure of alternative fuels, promoting the availability of compressed natural gas (CNG), biomethane and LNG (liquefied natural gas) and the availability of electric car charging points in Latvia. It is also planned to pay significant attention to increasing the sustainability and efficiency of the Group’s operations by developing suitable IT solutions and installing solar panels.

“Thanks to persistent work and the trust of our customers, the financial performance of Virši has been growing steadily since 2016. We see that the demand for our new products and services is expanding, so we are ready to continue development of the company at an even faster pace, inviting everyone to become a co-owner of the company - a shareholder. I am convinced that by building the company’s success story together, we will be able to achieve excellent results,” emphasises Jānis Vība, Chairman of the Board of Virši.

“As a result of the IPO Virši will diversify their growth opportunities giving investors a chance to become shareholders and turn their savings into productive investments,” says Daiga Auziņa-Melalksne, the CEO of Nasdaq Riga and Head of the Nasdaq Baltic Market.

About IPO time and procedure:
Subscription for Virši shares will start simultaneously in all three Baltic countries on 25 October at 10:00 EEST, and it will end on 5 November at 15:30 EEST. It is planned to announce the results of the IPO by 8 November. The trading of shares on Nasdaq Riga First North is expected to start around 11 November.

To subscribe for shares, investors must apply to their bank. Subscriptions in the Baltic States are available through Nasdaq Riga members. The full list of members is available on the stock exchange website: https://nasdaqbaltic.com/statistics/en/members.

The Virši IPO prospectus approved by the FCMC is available at: www.virsi.lv/investors.

Virši are making available a report on the Company which has been prepared on publicly available information by LHV’s independent analysts. At the same time please also note the following message. Disclosure: LHV Bank has been engaged as the financial advisor to the AS VIRŠI-A initial public offering (IPO) process.

https://www.virsi.lv/nova-assets/storage/L7DdYnqd8nB6F8Tq33wdI7omF4mM6Fneexot69UU.pdf

The company will provide more information about the IPO process in a virtual conference on 26 October at 10:00 EEST, where the company will tell more about the IPO and answer questions from the public. The webinar will be hosted by Jānis Vība, Chairman of the Management Board, and Vita Čirjevska, Member of the Management Board and Chief Financial Officer of Virši. Participants are invited to submit all their questions by 25 October, 16:00 EEST to the e-mail: [email protected].

For participation in the webinar (26.10, at 10:00 EEST) please register in advance here https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8000374676147483404.

The financial advisors of the Virši IPO process are LHV Bank and Eversheds Sutherland Bitāns.

The information contained in this announcement does not constitute investment advice nor a proposal. The information in this announcement contains generic forward-looking statements and the intention and plans of AS “Virši-A” to undertake an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Any investment decision shall be made subject to the prospectus approved by the Financial and Capital Market Commission of Latvia.

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.