Valmet Automotive chairperson tells YLE it's only an announcement of intent

The board chairperson at Valmet Automotive, Jarkko Sairanen, reminded YLE on Tuesday that it was only an announcement of intent.

He stated that the decision to put the plan on hold was made on the basis of a number of reasons that were brought up during discussions with potential investors: the geopolitical situation, consumer prices, and the muted economic outlook.

He said that he believes that we should look into growth financing in another way and return to this issue of listing at a later stage, once the market environment is better, and not speculating on the possible financing options.

In October, Valmet Automotive stated that it will look to raise 140 million euros through the public offering in order to enable future investments in its battery business. At the time, Varma and Ilmarinen pledged to serve as anchor investors with a combined allotment of 70 million euros in shares.

Sairanen told the public broadcaster that the anchor investors were fully committed to the offering. That alone was deemed insufficient due to the lukewarm sentiment in the capital and investment markets towards initial public offerings.

The investor's willingness to commit to growth stories is weaker than usual. He said that growth companies on the stock exchange have come down a lot, as they have come down a lot. Our story is a growth story. He reaffirmed his confidence in the company's growth strategy and said that the electrification of road traffic will gain more momentum in the long term.