INDEXO seeks central bank approval to buy DelfinGroup shares at €1.90

INDEXO has applied to Latvijas Banka, Latvia's central bank, for permission to make a voluntary offer for shares in DelfinGroup, the central bank said on Wednesday. INDEXO is offering €1.90 per share, and the offer will run for 20 days from the publication of the prospectus on the stock exchange website.

From 72% to almost 90%

INDEXO owns 72.03% of DelfinGroup and already fully consolidates the lender's financial results. Through the offer it wants to buy up to 8,164,808 shares, raising its stake to 89.99%. The offer is worth up to about €15.5 million and will be paid in cash only; the share-swap option mentioned in September will not be offered.

The price is 23.8% above the Nasdaq Riga closing price of €1.535 on 10 September, when INDEXO first announced a possible offer, and 21% above the volume-weighted average price over the previous six months.

Aiming to delist

Once its stake reaches 90% and financing is secured, INDEXO plans a final offer for the remaining shares and then to delist DelfinGroup from Nasdaq Riga. “Given INDEXO's majority shareholding, the costs of keeping DelfinGroup listed currently outweigh the benefits,” Henrik Karmo, INDEXO's chief executive and co-founder, said in a statement to the market.

To fund the offer and its 2026-2029 financial plan, INDEXO plans to raise up to €25.4 million in public and private share offerings in the Baltic states and Sweden, and to list its own shares on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm. The buyout itself is to be funded only from money raised in the Baltic public offering.

What it means for shareholders

Minority shareholders in DelfinGroup will have to decide once the prospectus has been approved and published, setting out the detailed terms and timetable. Latvijas Banka must approve or reject the offer within 10 working days of receiving all the documents required by law.