LEAX issues MSEK 300 in preference shares to AMF and 108 MSEK to current owners - intends early repayment of bond

LEAX Group AB (“LEAX” or the “Company”) has on this day entered into an investment agreement with AMF Tjänstepension AB (“AMF”). According to the agreement, AMF shall invest MSEK 300 in the Company through subscription of newly issued preference shares in the Company. AMF’s investment is conditional, among other details, on the property transaction described below being carried out and that AMF’s investment is completed not later than 30 April 2022. AMF’s investment is expected to be completed during April 2022. In connection with the completion of AMF’s investment in the Company, the Company will initiate a procedure in order to redeem its outstanding bond loan 2018/2022.

Furthermore, in connection with AMFs investment, the Company will, according to a separate agreement entered into with Köpingehus Aktiebolag (“Köpingehus”), acquire four investment properties held by property holding companies. The properties are today rented by LEAX and LEAX has operations on all properties. Köpingehus is controlled by the Company’s four largest shareholders, including the working chairman of the board, and a member of the management team of LEAX. The total consideration for the acquisition of the property holding companies will amount to approximately MSEK 108. The consideration equals the market value of the underlying properties as determined by independent valuation firms, less deductions for debt taken over by LEAX through the acquisition. The purchase price will be paid in newly issued preference shares in the Company at the same price per preference share as in the issue to AMF. The acquisition will strengthen the Company’s financial position and is expected to have a significant positive impact on LEAX operating profit.

The preference share issue will in total thus strengthen LEAX equity with more than MSEK 400.

“We are proud and happy to take this step with AMF. For us, it is of course a strong message that a well-known investor wants to take an ownership position in LEAX. We have previously communicated our plans for an IPO in the first half of 2022, and AMF’s investment is a part of these plans. We can now repay the bond and have time to wait for a more stable stock market”, says Roger Berggren, Chairman of LEAX.

“AMF has been following LEAX for a long time, and we are looking forward to being a part of their journey going forward. LEAX is an exciting company with an important position in Swedish industry”, says Anders Oscarsson from AMF.

LEAX has previously communicated that the board of directors and the Company’s owners are assessing the possibilities for a listing of the Company’s shares on Nasdaq Stockholm during the first half of 2022. The Company has gone through a listing process during the second half of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 and the Company was, subject to certain conditions being met, approved for listing at Nasdaq Stockholm by Nasdaq Stockholm’s listing committee. Due to the current global state of affairs and the effect this has had on the capital markets in the first quarter of 2022, the Company has decided to postpone the listing until the conditions for a listing are more beneficial.

This disclosure contains information that LEAX Group AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons, on 01-04-2022 15:30 CET.

Roger Berggren, Chairman of the Board
Phone: +46 (0)70 655 99 71
Mail: roger.berggren@leax.com

Tony Nicol, Group President and CEO 
Telephone: +44 (0)755 728 67 67
E-mail: tony.nicol@leax.com

About LEAX

LEAX Group AB (publ) is the parent company of a group (“LEAX Group”) with about 1 200 employees. LEAX has operations in Köping, Falun and Falköping in Sweden, Riga and Rezekne in Latvia, Curitiba in Brazil, Detmold in Germany, Mezökövesd in Hungary and Wuxi in China. The Group is a manufacturer of mechanical components and subsystems for the heavy vehicle industry, passenger car industry, mining and construction industries and other engineering industries. LEAX Group also delivers customized gearboxes for various mechanical engineering industries. The Group had a turnover of SEK 1,7 billion in 2021.