Bauska Municipality Resumes Sale of Its Stake in SIA "Piebalgas" After Two-Year Delay
The Bauska Municipality Council has restarted preparations to sell its 18.36% stake in the woodworking company SIA "Piebalgas", a decision originally made in July 2023 but postponed due to ownership changes and market conditions.
This year, the Bauska Municipality Council has resumed the process of selling its shares in SIA "Piebalgas", a woodworking company based in Vecumnieki parish. The decision to divest the 18.36% stake was adopted on July 29, 2023, as municipal participation in the company is no longer legally justified.
According to council chairman Aivars Mačeks (National Alliance), a competition was held and the company "Interbaltija" was selected to appraise the shares, but Mačeks declined to disclose the valuation. He explained that the sale was paused at the request of other owners, who wanted the municipality to wait for a better price. In 2023, the company suffered losses due to a downturn in the timber market. Now, operations are running at full capacity again, and the municipality hopes to complete the sale promptly.
Since November 27, 2024, the majority of SIA "Piebalgas" has been owned by Evelīna Ķimene through SIA "CWH timber" and SIA "BVC Latvia". According to Lursoft data, "CWH timber" is 80% owned by London-registered "Baltic Venture Capital Ltd" and 20% by Arvīds Āboliņš. It reported zero turnover from 2022 to 2024, with profits in 2022 and 2023 but a small loss in 2024. "BVC Latvia" is fully owned by "Baltic Venture Capital Ltd" and posted a loss in 2024. The owners of "Baltic Venture Capital Ltd" are Evelīna Ķimene, Vilnis Zakrevskis, and Aleksandrs Timofejevs.
Mačeks noted that the municipality received no dividends in 2024 because the company's profit was used to cover previous losses. A new valuation of the shares is being commissioned, and the council aims to finalize the sale soon. Deputy chairman Guntis Kalniņš (AS) added that the shares originally belonged to the former Bauska district, later to Vecumnieki municipality, and now to Bauska municipality.
