Infortar makes voluntary takeover offer to Tallink shareholders
Estonia's largest investment holding company Infortar has submitted an application to the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority (EFSA) to approve a public and voluntary takeover offer for Tallink shareholders. Tallink would remain a publicly listed company.
"The Estonian economy has been declining for nine consecutive quarters, the country's credit rating has been lowered and the geopolitical risk is still high. In case Tallink has any shareholders who doubt the economic outlook of our region then this offer brings liquidity to the market and provides them an opportunity to consider an exit." Chairman of the Infortar's Management Board of Ain Hanschmidt said in a press release.
"Infortar believes in the financial and market position of Tallink and plans to keep it a publicly listed company, however, it must be taken into account that for larger international investors the liquidity of the company's stock and market depth is limited – the average daily turnover of Tallink shares for the last year is about 175,000 euros" noted Hanschmidt.
The company said the takeover offer is voluntary and there is no obligation for anyone to participate. It said all shareholders will be treated equally. It hopes to start the offer in July after receiving EFSA approval.
The offer would stand for 35 days and the company wants to offer 0.55 euros per share to Tallink shareholders, the company said. However, this is below the current market value. On Friday, Tallink shares closed at 0.743 euros.
Taking into account the timeline of the offer process all shareholders are able to receive dividends for the previous year for 6 cents per share, irrespective of whether they plan to use their right of sale or not, Infortar said.
The offered price is similar to the average market price of Tallink for the last three years i.e. 0.61 euros per share. One year ago, in June 2023 the price of Tallink share was 0.56 euros per share.
To accept the offer the shareholder of Tallink must contact its account operator bank and submit the order for accepting the offer. The settlement of the offer is done via Nasdaq CSD. Infortar has the required financial assets to conclude the transaction.
Tallink Grupp manages ships on various shipping routes between Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The company's fleet consists of 14 ships operated under the brands Tallink Silja Line and Tallink Shuttle.
Infortar operates in six countries, the company's main areas of activity are energy, shipping and real estate. The company already owns a 46.8 percent stake in AS Tallink Grupp.
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Editor: Helen Wright
