Hygiene goods manufacturer “iCotton” in cooperation with “Signet Bank” has implemented a secured bond issue in the amount of 20 million euros, and it is planned to be included in the “First North” alternative market of the “Nasdaq Riga” stock exchange in the near future, LETA agency was informed by the bank’s representatives.
Bonds are offered to investors in the form of a closed offer.
The funds raised in the bond issue will be used to refinance the obligations of the “iCotton” group in Latvia and Poland. Replacing bank loans with repayment schedules with bonds with repayment at the end of the term will give the “iCotton” group the opportunity to obtain additional working capital for further business expansion, without increasing the total amount of liabilities, the bank explains.
“Signet Bank” representatives inform that more than 70 private and institutional investors, most of them from the Baltic countries, participated in the bond issue. Demand from institutional investors, mainly mutual funds, pension plans and banks, made up about half of the total demand for bonds, with retail investors accounting for the other half.
The bank also states that since the foundation of “iCotton” in 2011, significant investments have been made both in the expansion of the company’s production and the development of new products, and by purchasing the majority of the shares of the company “Harper Hygienics” listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
In factories in Liepāja and Poland, iCotton produces and offers cotton pads, cotton buds, wet and dry napkins, absorbent pads and feminine hygiene products to local and export markets. The company sells its products both under its own brands and private labels. The most important brands of the company group are “Cleanic” (beauty care and hygiene products), “Presto” (household products) and “Kindii” (children’s hygiene products).
Thanks to the vertically integrated production process and previous investments in product research, the “iCotton” group also introduced innovative environmentally friendly product categories made from hemp and flax fiber in 2022.
“iCotton” group has a production facility in Liepaja with an area of 9,000 square meters with 11 production lines and in Warsaw, Poland with a production area of 13,200 square meters and 44 production lines. In 2023, the turnover of the “iCotton” group exceeded 70 million euros, including 45% of the Baltic and Polish markets, and 55% of other European Union countries and export markets.
It has already been announced that “iCotton” worked with a turnover of 19.637 million euros in 2022, which is 9.3% less than in 2021, at the same time the company suffered a loss of 20,438 euros compared to the profit a year earlier.
The company “iCotton” was registered in 2011, and its share capital is 13,333,300 euros. The owners of the company are Maralbeks Gabdsatarovs, a citizen of Russia until March 29, 2022 (61.13%) and SIA “iCotton” (38.87%).
On the other hand, “Signet Bank” worked with a profit of 4.319 million euros in the nine months of last year, while the profit of the bank group was 3.794 million euros. The assets of “Signet Bank” on September 30, 2023 amounted to 385.373 million euros, which is 2.3% less than at the end of 2022, when the bank’s assets were 394.307 million euros.
The shareholders of “Signet Bank” are nine Latvian and international private investors, including “Signet Acquisition III” (24.5%), the only shareholder of which is the US investor Aleksandrs Solovejs, JSC “RIT Group” (19.51%), which is owned by Rapoportu family, and SIA “Reglink” (15.93%), the founder of which is Irīna Pīgozne.
2024-01-09 12:11:52
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