The special purpose company SIA Energy Investments, owned by members of the management board of JSC Latvijas gāze, plans to buy back more than 97% of Latvijas gāze shares by the end of the year, said Aigars Kalvītis, Chairman of the Board of Latvijas gāze.
He stated that Energy Investments has repurchased 28.97% of Latvijas gāze shares previously owned by Rietumu Banka, becoming the owner of 70.08% of the company.
Meanwhile, SIA Energo Management, controlled by lawyer Armands Strods, acquired the 6.15% of Latvijas gāze shares previously held by SIA Haupas, as well as 5% of shares owned by Investment Company Sarl. As a result, Energo Management now owns 11.15% of Latvijas gāze shares.
Asked whether it is planned to acquire the remaining Latvijas gāze shares, Kalvītis explained that less than 3% are public offer shares that could not be disposed of when leaving the stock exchange, but
the remaining more than 97% are planned to be acquired by Energy Investments by the end of this year.
Information on the Latvijas gāze website shows that 70.08% of the company’s shares are held by Energy Investments, 11.15% by Energo Management, 16% by SIA Itera Latvija, and 2.77% by other shareholders.
According to Firmas.lv, the composition of the management and supervisory boards of Latvijas gāze has also changed. The Chairman of the Board remains Kalvītis, and the board member is Egīls Lapsalis, but Deniss Jemeļjanovs and Elita Dreimane are no longer on the board.
In the Supervisory Council, Valentīns Bļugers and Guntars Reidzāns have been reappointed, while new council members are Aivars Strakšas and Lithuanian citizen Ričards Matijošaitis. Nikolajs Dorofejevs and Edgars Buncis are no longer in the council.
As reported, in autumn 2023, during a management buyout process,
Energy Investments acquired 28.97% of Latvijas gāze shares
from the Luxembourg investment fund Marguerite Gas II.
To raise funds for subsequent acquisition stages, Energy Investments transferred these Latvijas gāze shares to Rietumu Banka with repurchase rights. The agreement provided for buyback terms within a three-year period.
In November last year, Energy Investments and Lithuanian company Haupas acquired the 34% of Latvijas gāze shares previously owned by Russian company Gazprom, from Oman-based Qudrah International SPC. Among these, Energy Investments purchased 27.85% of the shares, while Haupas purchased 6.15%.
In July this year, Energy Investments acquired the 18.26% of Latvijas gāze shares owned by German state company Uniper Ruhrgas International.
From the 24th of August, 2023, to the 31st of December, 2024, Energy Investments generated no operating revenues and posted losses amounting to 19.746 million euros.
Energy Investments was registered in August 2023 with a share capital of 2,800 euros.
The company has two owners – Kalvītis (85%) and Lapsalis (15%).
According to Firmas.lv, Energo Management was registered in 2017 with a share capital of 70,000 euros. In 2024, the company operated without turnover and recorded losses of 6,940 euros. The sole owner of Energo Management is AS Ieguldījumu projekti, which itself has two owners – Strods (78.06%) and Miķelis Lapše (21.94%).
In 2024, Latvijas gāze turnover was 91.068 million euros, 43% less than the previous year, but the company returned to profit, posting 13.234 million euros compared to a loss the year before.
The share capital of Latvijas gāze amounts to 55.86 million euros. According to information on the company’s website, Latvijas gāze provides wholesale and sales of natural gas to business clients in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland. The company also supplies natural gas to households in Latvia.
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