Apollo Group begins stock exchange journey
Entertainment and catering group Apollo Group is planning a path to the stock exchange in cooperation with LHV Bank, with the first step being the listing of its bonds on the Nasdaq Tallinn Baltic list.
With the bond issue, the company aims to strengthen its financial independence and capital structure and support growth and investments to improve operational efficiency, Apollo Group said.
To have the bonds admitted to trading on the Baltic bond list of the Nasdaq Tallinn, Apollo plans to submit the relevant application. A prerequisite for the public offering of the bonds is approval of the prospectus by the Financial Supervision Authority. Apollo will announce the approval of the prospectus and the launch of the bond offering, including subscription terms, in a separate notice.
According to Silver Kalmus, head of bonds at LHV, both retail and institutional investors have for years been anticipating the arrival of Baltic market leaders from new sectors to the capital markets. "Apollo is one of the strongest brands and largest companies in the Baltics. From the perspective of capital market development; it is extremely important that Apollo plans to list its bonds on the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange's main bond list, which will allow investors to trade them on the secondary market," Kalmus added.
"Our concepts have proven successful – our cinema chain, bookstores and restaurants are all operating profitably. This has created a strong foundation for ambitious growth, with plans over the next five years to significantly increase both revenue and the number of locations across all our home markets. We aim to expand the number of locations we operate from 170 today to approximately 300," explained Toomas Tiivel, CEO of Apollo Group.
According to Apollo Group, it has ambitious expansion plans primarily in Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. In addition to Vapiano and KFC, the group plans to introduce other brands to the Finnish market.
Apollo Group's consolidated sales revenue for the 2024/25 financial year totaled €227 million, an increase of 6 percent or €14 million, compared with the previous financial year. The group's consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to €40 million, up 12 percent year on year.
Apollo Group's brands include Apollo Kino, Apollo bookstores, Blender, Ice Cafe, Vapiano, KFC, Lido, MySushi, CanCan and Delano. The Apollo Club loyalty program has more than one million members.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Marcus Turovski
