ABGH confirms the status, and key milestones of the Legal Protection Process for Amber Latvijas balzams (ALB) going forward.
- Court Case Reference: The Legal Protection Process (TAP) case number is C771004226.
- Procedural Status: ALB filed the initial TAP application on January 30, 2026. Following the curing of minor administrative defects, the Riga City Court officially accepted the application and initiated the case on February 5, 2026. The court has appointed Jānis Bērziņš as the independent supervisory person to oversee the proceedings.
- Strategic Rationale: As formally communicated to the State Revenue Service (VID) on February 5, entering TAP immediately freezes all debts and recovery actions (including VID's restrictions on our settlement operations), which is essential to ensure business continuity, maintain production processes, and preserve our workforce.
- Key Milestones: The court has established a strict deadline of June 5, 2026 (a four-month period) for ALB to develop a comprehensive TAP measures plan and coordinate it with its creditors. This agreed plan must be submitted for court approval no later than the day following this deadline. Once approved, the company will implement the restructuring plan over a period of up to two years, reporting regularly to the court and supervisor, while normal production operations continue.
ABGH acknowledges the Trustee’s recent notice regarding the notification of an Event of Default by certain Noteholders, and we are engaged in constructive discussions with the Trustee and relevant stakeholders to ensure the orderly servicing of our obligations. We must emphasize that the TAP process is strictly ring-fenced to our Latvian production entity, ALB. All other group entities - including our distribution networks, international sales, and the holding company - remain outside this process and continue normal operations.
To safeguard the Group’s liquidity and ensure compliance with our holding-level obligations, we are aggressively executing our transformation initiative that includes financial resilience. Despite market headwinds, our Q3 2025 results demonstrated improving operational efficiency. Our gross margin increased to 30.4%, and our operating profit rose to EUR 7.0 million, as well as debt reduction and divestments where we have actively reduced our overall debt burden, bringing total debt down by 12.1% to EUR 91.0 million by the end of Q3 2025. This includes the strategic divestment of non-core assets, such as the successful EUR 5 million sale of our Lithuanian warehouse and we are actively working of divestment of real estate in Briana Street and other non-operational assets.
Discussions with the Trustee and certain Noteholders are currently ongoing. Should formal proposals be required, we will adhere strictly to the mechanics outlined in Clause 20.6 of the Note Guarantees and Collateral Enforcement Terms. Specifically, upon receipt of formal confirmation and notification from the Trustee that an Event of Default has occurred, the Issuer has 20 Business Days to submit a proposed Action Plan regarding claim settlement to the Noteholders. This Action Plan requires approval from the Super Majority Noteholders. If the Super Majority Noteholders do not approve the Action Plan, the Majority Noteholders will then vote on whether to officially instruct the Collateral Agent to enforce the Guarantees and the Collaterals. Any formal proposal will be communicated transparently through the prescribed official information channels, including our website and the Nasdaq Riga information system.
As detailed in our Prospectus and the terms of the Notes, the security package includes a first-ranking mortgage over the real estate located at Uriekstes Street 9B, Riga (cadastral number: 0100 013 0133, registered in the Riga City Land Book folio number: 5001), where our new warehouse project is located. We continue to evaluate strategic options for this asset, including consolidating our logistics operations under a stand-alone entity ("Amber Logistics") to potentially attract a global logistics partner, further enhancing the asset's value and operational efficiency.
We confirm that the Notes remain secured in accordance with the robust security structure described in the Prospectus. Fulfilment of the Issuer’s obligations is guaranteed by a syndicate of subsidiaries, specifically: AS Amber Latvijas balzams, SIA AMBER DISTRIBUTION LATVIA, Amber Distribution Lithuania UAB, and the Project Company (ABG Real Estate SIA).
While ALB is under the legal protection of the TAP process – which freezes individual recovery actions against that specific entity - the broader security package remains actionable. Under Clause 20.6.3 of our terms, in an enforcement scenario, the Noteholders agree that the Collateral Agent is permitted to first enforce the Guarantee provided by the Project Company (ABG Real Estate SIA). Only if the funds recovered from this initial enforcement are insufficient to cover the claims and expenses does the Collateral Agent have the right to enforce the other Guarantees and Collaterals.
The Notes remain outstanding under their existing terms, and the next scheduled coupon payment date is 31 March 2026. The applicable coupon rate for the period ending 30 March 2026 has been duly fixed and announced in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the Notes. As of the date hereof, there are no known restrictions preventing the company from making this scheduled coupon payment, and currently no indication that the payment will not be made.
We maintain active and ongoing engagement with our banking counterparties in the ordinary course of business to manage our capital structure.
- Syndicated/International Facilities: Collateral related to certain banking facilities, including our agreement with Credit Suisse AG (now UBS AG), was previously extended until June 30, 2026. We received a Reservation of Rights letter from UBS AG on February 6, 2026, reserving their rights under the finance documents, and we immediately initiated correspondence with the Trustee on February 10 to seek guidance on appropriate next steps.
- Local Facilities & Tax Authorities: Regarding local operations, the State Revenue Service (VID) applied a second-ranking mortgage lien on ALB on November 6, 2025, to collect outstanding tax payments. As of mid-February 2026, the administered tax debt for ALB stood at EUR 28.3 million. Rietumu Banka has reminded us that this legal protection process and tax debt constitute violations of our Guarantee Agreement, giving them the right to impose penalties or demand early repayment, subject to the terms of our agreements. The express purpose of our February 5 TAP approval is to lift operational and banking restrictions imposed by VID, allowing us to restructure these specific local obligations while the wider Group continues to service its broader debt portfolio.