The Wallis Group continues to support AutoWallis’s plans for regional growth

For one year, WAM will lock up its own AutoWallis shares in case of a public issue

AutoWallis’s main shareholder, Wallis Asset Management Zrt., continues to support the company’ strategy and plans for the public raising of capital, which is why it undertook to refrain from reducing the number of its shares for one year following the public share offering planned by AutoWallis, even planning to purchase new shares in the course of the issue. Tibor Veres, Chairman of the Board at Wallis Asset Management, said they are satisfied with AutoWallis’s results and the company is continuing along the path determined at the outset thanks to the buy-outs, transactions, and organic growth it has implemented along the way. For AutoWallis, the changes in the vehicle trading and mobility market provide new opportunities for acquisitions, acquiring market shares, and business development; the company is currently examining the possibilities for growth and acquisitions in the interest of making the most of these opportunities.

AutoWallis’s main shareholder continues to provide committed support for the company’s plans for growth, aimed at making the automotive company of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BÉT) a major vehicle trading company and mobility service provider in the Central and Eastern European region by the end of the decade. Tibor Veres considers AutoWallis’s performance on the stock exchange to be successful, which will further be bolstered by the tools available to Wallis Asset Management Zrt. (WAM). The fact that AutoWallis has increased its capital by almost HUF 6 billion and has issued long-term bonds in a total value of HUF 9.69 billion in the past two years in a number of steps and with various solutions shows that a wide range of investors has shown their trust in the company. That is why WAM is welcoming AutoWallis’s plan to provide a possibility for retail clients to publically subscribe shares after the successful raising of institutional capital. In the interest of the success of the transaction and to support the following stock exchange processes,  WAM has agreed with AutoWallis Plc. to not decrease the number of AutoWallis shares it owns (lock up) for one year starting from the beginning of a possible subscription period for the issue of retail shares. Moreover, WAM plans to purchase new AutoWallis shares for itself as part of the public offering. As widely known, AutoWallis announced in September that to finance its plans for continued growth, it intends to raise HUF 6-8 billion in public institutional and retail capital (which amount may end up being more in case of oversubscription) in the remainder of the year. The company listed in the Premium Category of the Budapest Stock Exchange has already taken the preparatory steps necessary for the transaction. A prospectus approved by the National Bank of Hungary is necessary for the raising of capital, and the company is already working on the draft version.

Zsolt Müllner, Chairman of the Board of AutoWallis, explained that the primary aim of the public share offering is to finance the AutoWallis Group’s plans for growth, in addition to which another important goal is to increase the company’s role on the stock market as well as the liquidity of its shares. He emphasized that in the course of the AutoWallis Group’s almost three years on the stock exchange, AutoWallis displayed explosive growth: by the end of 2021, it is expected to triple the revenue of HUF 63 billion realized in 2018. The company achieved this exponential growth through both organic expansion and five transactions carried out in 2020. Zsolt Müllner added that the changes in the vehicle trading and mobility market are providing AutoWallis with new opportunities for acquisitions, acquiring market shares, and business development, which the company wants to make the best possible use of, which is why it is currently examining the possibilities for growth and acquisitions. He stressed that AutoWallis has become a regional consolidation platform in the industry that can offer a competitive advantage and stability to anyone that joins.

Gábor Ormosy, CEO of AutoWallis welcomed WAM’s commitment, which he feels supports the raising of capital planned by the company and this contributes to the company’s realization of its strategic targets. He added that in addition to WAM, involved partners also undertook lock up commitments regarding the shares created in the course of transactions involving earlier capital increases. According to the CEO, these share sale restrictions clearly show potential investors and AutoWallis’s almost 2,800 shareholders just how committed major shareholders are, as they decide to join the listed automotive company in its planned issues and participate in continued expansion in the region as shareholders. Gábor Ormosy emphasized that the issue of shares planned by AutoWallis may be of prominent importance on the Hungarian capital market not only because of its planned volume but because no similar retail transactions have taken place in Budapest since 2017.

Disclaimer

This publication is qualified as advertising according to the EU Regulation No. 1129/2017. The purpose of this publication is to ensure that all investors have access to the same regulated information and thus the Company provides total transparency and fully comply with the regulations of EU Regulation No. 1129/2017 and Act No. CXX of 2001 on the Capital Market (Tpt.). The information contained in this publication is related to the planned public offering of the newly issued shares of the Company for the current year, which will be fully published by the Company in the prospectus prepared pursuant to EU Regulation No. 1129/2017 following the approval of the NBH. Following the approval of the NBH, the prospectus will be publicly available at the following places of publication: bet.hu, kozzetetelek.mnb.hu, on the website of the Company www.autowallis.hu, and on the website of the distributor.

The possible approval of the prospectus by the NBH does not mean the approval of the securities to be offered or the offering of those on the regulated market. In order to fully understand the potential risks and benefits of the relevant investment decision it is expedient for the investors to read the prospectus after its publication, prior to making an investment decision regarding the public offering of the shares, and prior to making an investment decision, it is worth to carefully consider the legal, taxation or pay-off consequences of a possible investment in the Company and its securities, including the benefits of the investment and the relevant risks. The Company draws the attention to the fact that the Company and its representatives assume no responsibility for investment decisions based on the conclusions drawn by investors, for its detrimental legal consequences or financial losses.

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