Infortar going public to raise money for green energy, real estate projects
Infortar, the majority owner of Eesti Gaas and Tallink and Estonia's biggest investment company, is gearing up to list on the Nasdaq Tallinn stock exchange this spring. The company is planning on using the money raised by listing to fund green energy and real estate investments.
According to Infortar CEO Ain Hanschmidt, the company is slated to list this spring. How much money the company will raise on the market will be determined once the final prospectus is complete.
He added that a good opportunity has opened up to invest in the company's market area.
"We've grown big enough and we're expanding internationally," Hanschmidt said. "And on these five home markets — in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland — we won a market share everywhere last year. For example, Finland has a very large economy; I think we have a market share of more than 30 percent of natural gas sales in Finland already."
On bigger markets, it's better to compete as a listed public company than as a private company.
Infortar is raising money for energy and real estate projects.
"We're definitely looking for opportunities to invest in the energy sector, green energy sector — solar power stations," the CEO explained. "The real estate environment is very exciting right now. A lot of Western investors are leaving, and domestic investors have maybe borrowed too much as well. There are a lot of opportunities here."
Six companies began trading on the Tallinn stock exchange last year, however Enefit Green, a company with a similar market value to Infortar's, went public two years ago. To date, an investment company active in several fields has never been listed on Tallinn's stock market either.
"We're expecting it to be in maybe our top five," said Tallinn Nasdaq CEO Kaarel Ots. "Each such big company, each such visible successful IPO has, at least historically speaking, always brought in new investors, added trade turnover and in general had a positive impact."
Various business lines would make Infortar shares attractive, said Redgate Capital partner Aare Tammemäe.
"Real estate could be a pretty good hedge against inflation and a more stable business direction," Tammemäe noted. "Energy in turn growth-oriented, has perspective, which is likely of great interest to investors. A dividend stock would surely suit Infortar, but also everyone who wants a stable flow of dividends from their stocks."
He added that energy companies have started to dominate the stock market, noting that Estonian energy company Alexela wants to list as well.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla