OREANDA-NEWS. Citadele (the "Company" or the "Bank") today announces its intention to raise capital by launching an initial public offering ("IPO" or the "Offer") of new ordinary B shares ("Shares") to be listed on the NASDAQ OMX Riga (the "Riga Stock Exchange"), along with global depositary receipts ("GDRs") representing such Shares to be listed on the standard segment of the London Stock Exchange (together, the "Securities").

·      Citadele is a leading local Latvian bank with a presence across the Baltics. Currently the largest non-Nordic owned universal bank in Latvia, Citadele's strategy is to become the leading local bank of choice for aspiring individuals and businesses and to become a "domestic champion" for banking services in each of the Baltic States.

·      The Baltics are now among the fastest-growing economies in the European Union ("EU"). With high levels of production and relatively low labour costs, the region's export-orientated economies are well-positioned to continue their strong growth trajectories. The Baltics are full Eurozone members and have open economies closely linked to the EU.

·      The Offer will comprise an issuance of new Shares by the Company to raise gross proceeds of up to €115 million.[1] 

·      The proceeds of the Offer are to be used to help Citadele pursue future growth in Latvia and the Baltics. In addition, the proceeds will be used to repay €34.7 million of the subordinated debt currently held by the Latvian Privatisation Agency.

·      Citadele has the support of highly experienced and committed existing shareholders - the consortium of investors led by Ripplewood Advisors LLC ("Ripplewood") and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) - with an international reputation and a proven track record of delivering operational results.

·      Ripplewood and the consortium of co-investors are committed long-term investors in the Company. Together, they have agreed with the Latvian Privatisation Agency - under the terms of the acquisition of their stake in Citadele - not to effect any sale or transfer more than 10% of the shares in Citadele until 20 April 2017, other than in certain circumstances described in the Prospectus. With regard to the IPO, the Company, the members of the Group's Management Board, Supervisory Board and the EBRD will also agree to respective lock-up arrangements in respect of their holdings for specified periods of time following closing of the Offer.

Offer details

The Offer consists of two tranches: (1) a tranche of Shares (in the form of Shares and GDRs) will be initially offered to qualified investors in and outside of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (the "Institutional Tranche"); and (2) a tranche of Shares will be initially offered to persons in a public offering in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (the "Retail tranche"), in each case as permitted by applicable laws and regulations and the terms included in the Prospectus.

The Securities are being offered outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and within the United States to certain qualified institutional buyers as defined in, and in reliance on, Rule 144A or another exemption from, or a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements under the Securities Act.

In relation to the IPO, Citigroup is acting as Sole Global Co-ordinator. Citigroup and EFG Hermes are acting as Joint Bookrunners. Raiffeisen Bank International, Mediobanca and LHV are acting as Co-Lead Managers.

Further announcements relating to the IPO process will be made in due course.