London—Dentons has advised the Joint Global Coordinators and Bookrunners on the largest ever IPO out of the Baltics. AB Ignitis grupė, one of the largest utility and renewable energy companies in the Baltic region and majority-owned by the Lithuanian government, raised €450 million in its Rule 144A/Regulation S initial public offering and dual listing of global depositary receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange and shares on Nasdaq Vilnius. The company issued 18,130,699 ordinary shares, in the form of GDRs and shares, in an institutional placing, and 1,869,301 shares under a retail offer, all at an issue price of €22.5 per share/GDR.

Ignitis grupė is a leading utility and renewable energy group in the Baltic region, with operations in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland. It has transformed into a regional leader in the transition to green energy. Ignitis achieved a 96% reduction in generation-based carbon dioxide emissions between 2015 and 2019. Between 2013 and 2019, Ignitis reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 30x, and in 2019 it generated 98% of its power from renewables, with no coal or nuclear generation facilities in its portfolio. It is committed to becoming net CO2 neutral by 2050.

J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Swedbank and UBS acted as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners, and BofA Securities acted as Joint Bookrunner. The entire IPO process was run virtually, from kick-off through roadshow and closing.

Nik Colbridge, Global Capital Markets practice leader and UK partner, who co-led from Dentons, said: "We are pleased to have advised the Bookrunners on what is the largest IPO out of the Baltic region. This developing market, from an equity capital markets perspective, gave rise to complex and unprecedented issues, but the success of the transaction, in difficult market conditions, is testament to the significant effort from all team members."

Cameron Half, London-based US Securities and Capital Markets partner, who co-led the Dentons team said: "We are very pleased to have been trusted by our clients, which include the leading investment banks in the European equity capital markets, in advising them on this transaction. This demonstrates the increasing capabilities of the Dentons capital markets team to advise on complex cross-border transactions, as well as our particular strength in advising on capital markets transactions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and market leadership in the Baltic region."

Dentons has previously advised Ignitis on its bond issuances, including the first green bond issued by a CEE corporate. This is the fifth high-profile capital markets transaction in the Baltic region on which Dentons has advised since mid-2019, following a €300 million issuance by Ignitis in May 2020, the debut US$300 million Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of guaranteed notes by Avia Solutions Group in December 2019, the debut €200 million bond offering by Air Baltic in July 2019, and advising the Republic of Lithuania on a €2 billion offering in May 2020, its largest ever issuance. 

In addition to Nik Colbridge and Cameron Half, the Dentons team, which advised on the transaction, included London-based US Securities associate Yash Ranade, Corporate associates Ben Lloyd and Jonathon Tulip, and Corporate trainees Daisy Robson-Odugbemi and Yip Sum Wu. Additional support was provided by UK Tax partner Alex Tostevin, UK Regulatory partner Celyn Armstrong, and New York-based US Tax partner Jon T Hutchens. Warsaw partner Agnieszka Kulinska provided Polish law advice. WALLESS advised as to Lithuanian law.

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