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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 26.04.2024, 20:41

Majority owner cancels sale of Lithuanian Novaturas, may choose to float

BC, Vilnius, 06.11.2017.Print version
Enterprise Investors, one of the biggest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe, has canceled the planned sale of the Lithuanian tour operator Novaturas to Poland's largest tour operator Itaka Holding and is considering floating the Lithuanian company on the Vilnius and Warsaw stock exchanges, reports LETA/BNS.

The fund said in a press release on Friday that it had terminated the agreement, signed with Itaka Holding four months ago, due to delays in obtaining clearance from the Lithuanian Competition Council.

 

"We concluded that in view of Novaturas' dynamic growth and excellent financial results, the delay in securing antimonopoly approval was undesirable for the company and its shareholders," Sebastian Krol, a partner at Enterprise Investors, said in the press release.

 

"As we could not predict the timing and outcome of the regulatory process, we decided to terminate the agreement with Itaka and explore other strategic options available to Novaturas. In particular, we will now consider the potential for a flotation on the Warsaw and Vilnius stock exchanges", he added.

 

Novaturas CEO Linas Aldonis said he was confident that the company could launch a successful IPO.

 

"The company has a sound financial basis and good outlook for the years to come. I truly believe that Novaturas has all it takes to attract financial investors and float successfully," he said in the press release.

 

It was announced in late June that Enterprise Investors was selling its 70.72% stake in Novaturas to Itaka Holdings. Three minority shareholders holding 9.76% of the shares each also planned to sell their holdings. The value of the deal was not disclosed.






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