Astralis Look To Delist From Nasdaq

The Danish esports organisation went public in 2019 but now recognises there is little value in continuing to offer a public listing

Danish esports organisation Astralis has announced its intention to hold an extraordinary general meeting to vote on delisting from the Nasdaq. The company went public in December 2019 and after the initial offering the share price has steadily declined to its current value of a little over 1DKK per share. An investor document outlined the following rationale behind the move:

Despite the strong financial performance, the share price has dropped 80% since the listing and now trades at a material discount to the price at the initial public offering (IPO). The liquidity of the Company's share on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark is very limited, which means that there is limited value for both the Company and its shareholders being listed on a public marketplace.

The cost of being listed on the Nasdaq is stated to cost the company between 2-3 million DKK annually and given the lack of value in the share they argue the money would be better utilised on other areas of the company. Should the vote be successful then the lack of a public listing will come with fewer transparency requirements as they outline in the same document:

By delisting after the Continued Trading Period, the Company will no longer be covered by, among other things, the disclosure obligations in the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and the set of rules that apply to companies admitted to trading on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark. However, the Company will continue to be covered by, among other things, the rules in the Companies Act and the Annual Accounts Act.

While public perception around this decision might lead some to think that the organisation is facing financial difficulties Astralis point out that their revenue has considered to grow steadily since the 2019 listing, with an annual revenue of 49 million Danish Krone in 2019 to 88 million Danish Krone (approximately 13 million dollars) in 2022.

The document also confirms that Astralis are streamlining their portfolio having sold 41 percent of the ownership of Pixel.tv, which they only acquired a majority stake in February 2022, making them no longer a majority shareholder in the company. Adding that they withdrew support for their Rainbow 6 team they state now their goal is “to focus its key business around the two game titles League of Legends and Counter-Strike, the franchise league ownerships, commercial partnerships, development of direct media offerings, digital items, as well as merchandise, and other fan products.”

You can read the full delisting background document here.