Vostok New Ventures Ltd. Financial Report for the Third Quarter and the First Nine Months 2019

Bermuda, Nov. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Net asset value (NAV) and financial results for the nine month period

• Vostok New Ventures’ net asset value was USD 689.24 million (mln) on September 30, 2019 (December 31, 2018: 876.71), corresponding to USD 8.82 per share (December 31, 2018: 10.37). Given a SEK/USD exchange rate of 9.804 the NAV was SEK 6,757.30 mln (December 31, 2018: 7,864.96) and SEK 86.47 per share (December 31, 2018: 93.01), respectively.
• The group’s NAV per share in USD increased by 16.4%, adjusted for the SEK 25 distribution concluded on March 14, 2019. The portfolio value change is mainly driven by the revaluation of Babylon (USD 105.9 mln).
• Net result for the period was USD 76.47 mln (January 1, 2018–September 30, 2018: 31.27). Earnings per share were USD 0.97 (0.37).

Financial results for the third quarter

• Net result for the quarter was USD -9.44 mln (19.10). Earnings per share were USD -0.12 (0.23).

Key events during the quarter July 1, 2019–September 30, 2019

• In July 2019, following final allocation, Vostok New Ventures invested the remaining USD 5.8 mln of its commitment in VOI through a convertible note for a total investment of USD 17.5 mln.
• On August 2, 2019, Vostok New Ventures participated in the closing of a funding raise in Babylon with a total of USD 72.3 mln, including previously extended convertible loans. The USD 500 mln round, with an option to raise a further USD 50 mln, values the company at USD 2 billion (bln) post money.
• On September 25, 2019, the Company announced the bond issue closed successfully, the transaction closed the day after it was launched. The Bonds, in an initial amount of SEK 550 mln (USD 55.8 mln) within a frame of SEK 800 mln run, with a tenor of three years and will carry a fixed coupon of 5.75% p.a. with interest paid quarterly. The bond was issued on October 4, 2019.
• On September 25, 2019, one of the Company’s principal holdings, BlaBlaCar, announced it is acquiring Busfor, one of Vostok New Ventures’ other portfolio holdings. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory conditions and is expected to close in Q4 2019.

Share (SDR) info

• In July 2019, the Company issued 147,000 new shares and corresponding SDRs in connection with the option program issued 2016 under its 2010 incentive program.
• On August 22, 2019, a Special General Meeting in the Company resolved in accordance with the Board’s proposal to adopt a new share-based long-term incentive program for a number of key employees within the Vostok New Ventures Group. The Company issued a total of 2,100,000 reclassifiable, subordinated common shares of par value of USD 0.24 each to the participants in the Company’s 2019 long-term incentive program (LTIP 2019).
• At the end of the period, the number of outstanding common shares (SDRs), excluding 7,685,303 repurchased SDRs, was 78,150,006. Including subordinated common shares, 2,100,000 issued, the total number of outstanding shares amounts to 80,250,006.

Key events after the end of the period

• After the end of the period, in November 2019, Vostok New Ventures invested a further USD 30 mln into VOI Technology as part of a larger funding round.

The Company will hold a telephone conference with an interactive presentation at 17:00 CET (11:00 a.m. ET) Wednesday, November 13. For call-in details, see separate press release issued Monday, November 11, at .

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