Valmet Automotive chairperson says IPO put on hold

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Valmet Automotive chairperson says IPO put on hold

Jarkko Sairanen, chairperson of Valmet Automotive, 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 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 said that it will look to raise 140 million euros through the public offering 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. The capital and investment markets' sentiment toward initial public offerings was deemed to be insufficient, despite the fact that alone was deemed insufficient.

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