Shares of Romanian startup Air Claim nearly double in price on BVB after listing

Air Claim, a company that helps passengers get compensation for flights that are canceled or delayed, closed its first trading session on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on July 23 with a capitalisation of RON54.6mn (€11mn), after its shares nearly doubled in price (+99.7%) compared to the price in the private placement

The listing comes after a private placement for shares held between May 31 and June 4. During the private placement, Air Claim raised around RON2.4mn from investors. The anticipated capitalisation of the company amounted to RON27.3mn.

“Very few passengers, less than 15% more precisely, know that under the European law is granted a compensation between 250 and EUR 600 to each passenger if the flight had an unjustified delay of more than 3 hours or it was canceled,” said Mihail Cotes, CEO of Air Claim, explaining the company’s concept. 

“We knew that the capital market brings many advantages, but we were surprised to see how many doors it really opens. As a result, we have negotiated partnerships through which we offer our services to several banks in Romania; we talked to some of the largest airports in Europe with a view to implementing Air Claim physical presence points in their terminals; we created a mobile phone app; we started a partnership for the development of a cryptocurrency. But most importantly, we started our offline activity on the Otopeni Airport. Our team is present in the security area at Arrivals, the area where luggage is picked up. My colleagues and I hand out leaflets and process requests on the spot,” Cotes added. 

BVB president Radu Hanga noted that the listing brings the number of companies to list on the exchange this year to 14, as an increasing number of companies look to the local capital market to raise funding. “[E]ach listing increases the diversity of economic sectors in which investors can place their money, one of the key elements for improving market liquidity and dispersing the investment risk,” Hanga said. 

The private placement and the listing were assisted by Goldring brokerage house. “Air Claim does not fit into the familiar patterns of the new issuers on the stock exchange, and the interest with which the private placement was received shows that the AeRO market is ready to assume even more the mission of supporting new, dynamic, and creative businesses. I am confident that Air Claim’s listing on the Romanian stock exchange will increase the attractiveness and diversity of the investment offer available on the capital market,” said Goldring CEO Virgil Zahan, according to a press release from the BVB. 

Among the projects outlined by Cotes is a “token cryptocurrency” that would be used to compensate its customers (alternative to the normal currencies).

“We have concluded a partnership with Bitcoin Romania in order to analyse and develop a token cryptocurrency (AirClaim Coin). AirClaim customers will be able to choose between receiving the amount of compensation in a fiat currency (in RON or EUR) or in tokens — at twice the value (€280 or tokens worth €560). Virtual currency holders can benefit from ‘staking’ interest rates and exclusive discounts from AirClaim partners for travel industry-specific products and services,” he said.