The international energy company Ignitis Group on 17 March signed a settlement agreement with Investors' Association that represents minority shareholders of Ignitis Group subsidiaries Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius (ESO) and Ignitis Gamyba on the delisting of these companies. The persons who disputed the delisting of these companies from the stock exchange withdrawn their claims and therefore the related processes can now smoothly continue.
“We value the input of minority shareholders to our companies. Mutual dialogue is a necessary component of the ongoing transformation of the Ignitis Group. It is very important that we have reached an agreement allowing us to continue working on the capital market projects, including preparation for the Ignitis Group IPO. At the same, it also ensured continuous partnership with ESO and Ignitis gamyba minority shareholders,” said Darius Maikštėnas, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Ignitis Group.
A progress in preparing for Ignitis Group‘s IPO which will strengthen the company's share capital was reached – the Working Group, which was initiated by the Ministry of Finance, identified IPO as a preferred long-term financing alternative for Ignitis Group and recommended to prepare for it. Therefore, by signing the settlement agreement with Investors’ Association, Ignitis Group was able to agree on initiation of dividend payment decisions and full allocation to the minority shareholders of ESO and Ignitis Gamyba in the Ignitis Group IPO.
Subject to the approval of the Bank of Lithuania, shareholders of ESO and / or GEN as of Agreement signing date (17 March 2020) who will sell their shares during the tender offer will be entitled to the full allocation of Ignitis Group IPO shares. Sum of allocated shares will be equal to the number of shares held by the shareholder multiplied by the tender offer price announced in the notification on material event on 10 January 2020 adding the sum of dividends paid in 2020 for the financial year of 2019. Purchase price of Ignitis Group shares paid by ESO and GEN shareholders will be the same as for any other potential participant of Ignitis Group IPO.
“This agreement is a good example of how the interest of all stakeholders should be taken into account. By implementing the provisions of the agreement, we would no longer suspend the delisting process of ESO and Ignitis Gamyba. We wish the Ignitis Group success in raising capital during the planned IPO and look forward to constructive cooperation in the future,” said Tomas Pilipavičius, Head and Board Member of Investors' Association that represents minority shareholders of ESO and Ignitis Gamyba.
“The negotiation process with the Ignitis Group has shown that it is seeking to find solutions in a civilized way. The reached agreement today satisfies all parties. We find it being a progressive decision as minority shareholders will have the right to become shareholders of Ignitis Group when the planned IPO takes place,” says Vidmantas Martikonis, one of the minority shareholders of ESO and Ignitis Gamyba.
The minority shareholders agreed that the prices, specified in the official tender circulars which were submitted to the Bank of Lithuania and that to be paid for one share of ESO (EUR 0.880 per share) and Ignitis Gamyba (EUR 0.640 per share), are appropriate and acceptable to investors at the time of the official tender.
After signing the settlement agreement, minority shareholders have withdrawn claims requesting to invalidate resolutions to delist the companies which were adopted at the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of ESO and Ignitis Gamyba on 4 December 2019. It was also agreed that the agreement would expire if any new related disputes were brought to court.