Raute Corporation's Board of Directors has decided on the completion of a directed share issue in accordance with advance subscription commitments
RAUTE Corporation, STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 4 April 2023 AT 9:45 A.m. EEST
RAUTE CORPORATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS DECIDED ON THE COMPLETION OF A DIRECTED SHARE ISSUE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ADVANCE SUBSCRIPTION COMMITMENTS
The Annual General Meeting of Raute Corporation (the "Company") held on March 30, 2023 decided on a directed share issue deviating from the shareholders' pre-emptive subscription rights, in which a maximum of 900,000 new shares of the Company are offered for subscription, and on the authorization of the board of directors to decide on the payment period and subscription period of the shares, as well as on other possible conditions of the share issue. Today, in accordance with the decision of the Annual General Meeting, the Company’s board of directors has decided to issue 839,039 new shares of the Company (the “Shares”) in deviation from the shareholders’ pre-emptive subscription rights (the "Directed Share Issue").
In accordance with the decision of the Annual General Meeting, the shares were offered to be subscribed by investors approved by the Board of Directors in accordance with the subscription commitments given by them. The investors include among others Göran Sundholm, eQ’s funds, UB’s funds, Stephen Industries Oy, Mininvest Oy and Handelsbanken Finland Småbolag fund.
The subscription price of the Directed Share Issue is EUR 7.68 per Share. The subscription prices of the shares are recorded in the Company's invested unrestricted equity fund.
The subscription and payment period for the Shares is April 4, 2023, unless the Board of Directors decide to extend the subscription and/or payment period. Subscriptions made in accordance with the subscription commitments are considered accepted once the subscription price has been fully paid.
The purpose of the Directed Share Issue is to support the targeted growth in accordance with the Company’s strategy, improve the Company’s financial position and to strengthen its capital structure. The Directed Share Issue and the new equity financing to be acquired thereby together with the other actions described in the release published on March 9, 2023, aimed at strengthening the Company’s capital structure, enables obtaining financing which is significant from the point of view of the Company’s strategic objectives. The Board of Directors of the Company finds that the Directed Share Issue is an essential contributor in fulfilling the Company’s strategic objectives. Therefore, there is a weighty financial reason for the Company to deviate from the pre-emptive right of the shareholders in the Directed Share Issue.
The Directed Share Issue generates for the Company gross proceeds of approximately 6.44 million euros. The number of Shares issued in the Directed Share Issue corresponds to approximately 19.68 percent of all shares in the Company before the Directed Share Issue and approximately 16.44 percent of all shares after the Directed Share Issue. After the registration of the shares, the total number of all the Company's shares is 5,102,233. The shares will be registered in the trade register maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office and will be recorded in the investors' book-entry accounts via Euroclear Finland Oy on or about April 5, 2023.
Of the Shares, 643,725 Shares are applied for trading on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy's stock exchange list (the "Helsinki Stock Exchange"), so that trading will start on or about April 6, 2023. These Shares will have the same ISIN code FI0009004741 and trading code "RAUTE" as the Company's shares already traded on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
The remaining 195,314 Shares (“Shares Subject to Later Listing”) will be applied to be listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange so that trading in the Shares Subject to Later Listing will start as soon as possible after the publication of the prospectus, approximately in mid-May. The Shares Subject to Later Listing will have a temporary ISIN code of FI4000549936 until the Shares Subject to Later Listing are admitted to trading on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. After the Shares Subject to Later Listing have been admitted to trading on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, they will have the same ISIN code FI0009004741 and trading symbol "RAUTE" as the Company's shares that are already subject to trading on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
Evli Plc acts as the manager in the Directed Share Issue. The legal advisor to Raute is Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd.
RAUTE CORPORATION
Mika Saariaho
President and CEO
FURTHER INFORMATION
Mika Saariaho, President and CEO, tel. +358 40 1549393
DISTRIBUTION:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd, principal media, www.raute.com
RAUTE IN BRIEF - MAKING WOOD MATTER
Raute is the partner to future-proof the wood industry. Our technologies cover different production processes with supporting digital and analytics solutions for engineered wood products. Additionally, we offer full-scale service concept ranging from spare parts to regular maintenance and modernizations. Our innovative hardware and software solutions are designed to support our customers’ efficient consumption of natural resources. In mill-scale projects, Raute is a global market leader both in the plywood and LVL industries. Raute’s head office and main production is located in Lahti, Finland. The company’s other production plants are located in Kajaani, Finland, the Vancouver area of Canada, Changzhou, China, and in Pullman, WA, USA. Raute’s net sales in 2022 were EUR 158.3 million. The Group’s headcount at the end of 2022 was 778. More information about the company can be found at www.raute.com.