"When we made the offer, we thought it might be attractive to those wishing to exit the region – our assumptions were correct. The majority of Tallink's 30,000 shareholders decided to stay, indicating that they share Infortar's outlook," said Infortar CEO Ain Hanschmidt.

"Infortar believes in Tallink's business model – their management and entire team have done an excellent job, successfully steering the company through various crises. They have overcome the challenges associated with COVID, and business operations have normalized. In addition to the record profits in 2023, Tallink has significantly reduced its debt burden and secured a strong financial position," Hanschmidt stated.

"Tallink will remain listed on the stock exchange, similar to most other Estonian listed companies, with a minority stake. Estonia has developed a strong investor community, and both Infortar and Tallink have greatly benefited from being public companies," Hanschmidt added.

In early July, investment firm Infortar made a public and voluntary takeover offer to Tallink shareholders – they were not obligated but had the option to accept or reject the offer. Infortar treated all shareholders equally, and the public offer was valid for all Tallink shareholders.

Infortar offered Tallink shareholders €0.55 per share, which was below the market price. According to the overall schedule of the offer process, all shareholders also received a dividend of six cents per share for the previous year. The offer was likely targeted at a large institutional investor wanting to exit the Baltic region, who would have otherwise sold their stake directly on the stock exchange.

As part of the offer, shareholders decided to sell a total of 161,395,930 shares to Infortar, representing 21.67 percent of all shares. Infortar will finance the transaction with its liquid assets, and the purchase price will be paid to participating shareholders on August 9 this year, the company announced. Tallink's operational and financial metrics will be consolidated and reflected in Infortar's next quarterly results.

Tallink Group operates ships on various routes between Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The company's fleet consists of 14 ships operated under the brands Tallink Silja Line and Tallink Shuttle. In addition to providing maritime transport services, the group also charters out its ships for both short-term and long-term projects, runs four hotels and two standalone restaurants in Tallinn and Riga, operates a successful travel retail business with stores both on its ships and onshore, holds the franchise for the global fast-food chain Burger King in the Baltic states and manages several subsidiaries in the tourism and transport sectors.

Infortar operates in six countries, with its main activities in energy, shipping and real estate. Infortar holds a 68.47 percent stake in AS Tallink Grupp, a 100 percent stake in AS Eesti Gaas and a diverse real estate portfolio totaling approximately 113,000 square meters. In addition to its three core business areas, Infortar is also involved in construction and mineral resources, agriculture, printing, taxi services and other fields. In total, Infortar Group comprises 103 companies: 48 group companies, five associated companies and 50 subsidiaries of associated companies.

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