Silmäasema Oyj: Coronaria Oy Commences Its Mandatory Public Cash Tender Offer for All Shares in Silmäasema Oyj on September 5, 2019


Coronaria Oy Commences Its Mandatory Public Cash Tender Offer for All Shares in Silmäasema Oyj on September 5, 2019

Silmäasema Oyj              
Tender Offer                                          
4 September 2019 at 6:00 p.m. EET


Coronaria Oy (“Coronaria” or the “Offeror”) has, through share purchases made on 15 and 16 August 2019, acquired a total of 1,420,031 shares in Silmäasema Oyj (“Silmäasema” or the “Company”).

As a result of the share purchases, Coronaria’s shareholding in Silmäasema increased to a total of 4,615,443 shares, corresponding to 32.4 per cent of all shares and voting rights in the Company, respectively. Consequently, Coronaria’s holding in Silmäasema exceeds 30 per cent of the shares and voting rights carried by Silmäasema’s shares and Coronaria is thereby obligated to launch a mandatory public tender offer for all shares and securities entitling to shares in Silmäasema (“Tender Offer”) in accordance with the Securities Markets Act.

Coronaria announced today that the tender offer will start on Thursday 5 September 2019 and it will end on 26 September 2019. The Offeror reserves the right to extend the Offer Period in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer.

The Tender Offer Document will be available in Finnish from September 5, 2019 onwards at the headquarters of Coronaria, Saaristonkatu 22, 3rd floor, FI-90100 Oulu, Finland, at Carnegie Investment Bank AB, Finland branch, Eteläesplanadi 22 A, 7th floor, FI-00130 Helsinki, Finland and at Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd., Fabianinkatu 14, FI-00100 Helsinki, Finland. The electronic version of the Tender Offer Document will be available in Finnish from September 5, 2019 onwards online at www.coronaria.fi/ostotarjous and www.carnegie.se/ostotarjous and in English from September 5, 2019 onwards online at www.coronaria.fi/tender-offer and www.carnegie.se/tenderoffer.

Pursuant to the Finnish Securities Markets Act, the Silmäasema’s Board of Directors prepares a public statement regarding the tender offer. The statement will include a well-founded assessment of the tender offer from the perspective of Silmäasema and its shareholders as well as of the strategic plans presented by the offeror in the tender offer document and their likely effects on the operations of, and employment at, Silmäasema. The statement will be published in due course.

As permitted under Finnish law and other applicable law or regulation, the Offeror may purchase shares in Silmäasema also outside the Tender Offer on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. or otherwise prior to the expiry of the Offer Period or any extended Offer Period or subsequent Offer Period at a price that does not exceed the Offer Price, as the case may be.

Silmäasema’s operations will continue as normal and the transaction has no impact on our customers.


SILMÄASEMA OYJ


Jussi Salminen
CEO

For further information, please contact:

CEO Jussi Salminen, tel. +358 40 834 5818
CFO Sari Nordblad, tel. +358 50 552 7247


Mikko Merisaari, Head of Communications and Investor Relations, tel. +358 50 521 4055

Silmäasema is a Finnish company, which offers all products and services for optical retail and eye healthcare nationwide. Silmäasema is the largest private eye clinic provider offering eye surgeries and the second largest optical retail chain in Finland. The Silmäasema chain has nearly 150 stores and 13 eye clinics in Finland as well as nine stores in Estonia. The Silmäasema chain employs over 1,000 eye healthcare professionals. The Silmäasema Group’s net sales were EUR 122.9 million in 2018 and adjusted EBITDA was EUR 11.8 million.