Owner of Eesti Gaas plans to go public
Infortar, major owner of Eesti Gaas and Tallink, being Estonia’s largest investment company with more than one billion euros in assets and operating in energy, shipping and real estate, aims to go public in the near future.
Ain Hanschmidt
“Infortar has grown so big that the next logical step is to be listed and public. Expanding our investor base and joining the stock exchange gives us the opportunity to grow even faster internationally, to increase the value of our assets and to find additional financing opportunities,” said Ain Hanschmidt, Chairman of the Management Board at Infortar.
“Our investment portfolio is diverse and cross-border, the lion’s share of the group’s income comes from foreign markets. The energy, shipping and real estate companies in which Infortar participates have proven themselves in crises and have great growth potential – we plan to continue investing in energy and real estate projects, while Tallink has its own decision-making processes and an investment plan independent of us,” Hanschmidt said.
“The goal of going public has been set, the advisers have been chosen and the initial preparations have been made, but the more precise time frame depends on what is happening around us – no one can see behind the curvature of the earth after all. We are investors ourselves and we want to offer other investors a unique value share, meaning dividend security, real success and assets, not only in the future but also today,” Hanschmidt said.
Infortar is Estonia’s largest investment company with a balance sheet volume of €1.1 billion and equity capital of €569 million. Infortar operates in five countries, the company’s main fields of activity are energy, shipping and real estate. Infortar’s group of companies consists of 48 subsidiaries. Infortar owns a 40% stake in AS Tallink Grupp, a 100% stake in AS Eesti Gaas, as well as a versatile and modern real estate portfolio.
AS Eesti Gaas is the largest privately owned energy company in the Finland-Baltic region. The company provides natural gas to its customers in the form of pipeline gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), while developing a renewable energy portfolio with solar energy and green gas (biomethane) production. Eesti Gaas operates in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland under the brand Elenger. The group has a total of 50,000 customers.
AS Tallink Grupp is the leading maritime shipping and transport group in the Baltic Sea. Tallink’s new ships comply with all current and known future pollution standards. In addition to passenger and cargo transportation at sea, Tallink provides services on land by operating an e-store, hotels and restaurants. Tallink’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Tallinn and Nasdaq Helsinki stock markets.
Infortar’s real estate portfolio includes over 100,000 m2 of real estate – four hotels, several office buildings, a logistics centre in Maardu, Tallink Tennis Center, and almost 50 hectares of land with great development potential in Tallinn and its surroundings. Infortar’s construction companies EG Ehitus, INF Ehitus and INF Infra, as well as Eesti Maavarade Grupp which deals with construction minerals, are closely related to real estate.
