Altor becomes the largest shareholder in Skandiabanken ASA
Altor Fund IV ("Altor") acquires 26.6 million shares in the Norwegian online bank Skandiabanken ASA ("Skandiabanken") from Livförsäkringsbolaget Skandia, ömsesidigt ("Skandia") at NOK 46 per share, and becomes the largest shareholder in Skandiabanken with a 25% ownership interest. The acquisition is expected to be completed within the next couple of days.
Skandiabanken's business was launched in 2000 as the first online bank in Norway and is today the largest independent online bank in Norway, with solid financial performance and a highly loyal customer base. The bank’s focus on convenient, secure and fee-less transaction banking and mortgage lending has consistently secured the highest customer satisfaction and reputation in the Norwegian banking sector. The company has approx. 290 employees and is based in Bergen, Norway with total assets of NOK 65bn (EUR 6.8bn). Skandiabanken is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker SKBN.
Altor has been granted approval to acquire up to 25% of the shares in Skandiabanken by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.
Skandia agreed to lock-up its shares in Skandiabanken for a period of 180 calendar days from 2 November 2015 in connection with the listing of Skandiabanken on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Skandia's lock up undertaking with respect to the shares to be sold to Altor has been waived against a lock up undertaking from Altor for the remainder of the said 180 days period.
“We have followed Skandiabanken over time, and are impressed with the position the bank has built in the Norwegian market. Skandiabanken has the most satisfied bank customers in the country and a competent and cost effective organization. This is a fantastic platform for future growth. We look forward to working with the board of directors and management in the future development of the bank” says Hugo Maurstad, Partner at Altor Equity Partners, advisor to Altor.
“We look forward to hand over the majority of our shares to Altor but continue to take part in creating good customer experiences, further growth and increasing shareholder value” says Marek Rydén, CFO, Skandia. “During the IPO we said that it was time for the Skandia Group to allow our Swedish life insurance customers to monetize on their investment by us selling the Norwegian bank. To sell a larger part of our remaining shares in the bank is the next step in executing on our strategy to focus on the Swedish market.”
For more information, please contact:
Hugo Maurstad, partner at Altor Equity Partners, +47 22 12 83 80 or hugo.maurstad@altor.com
Marek Rydén, CFO Skandia, +46 8 788 45 93
About Altor
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some EUR 5.8 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in excess of EUR 3.4 billion in more than 40 companies. The investments have been made in medium sized Nordic companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are Ewos, Eltek, Rossignol, Spectrum, Apotek Hjärtat, Carnegie, Lindorff, Helly Hansen, Dustin and Byggmax. For more information visit www.altor.com.
About Skandia
Skandia is one of the largest, independent, customer-owned banking and insurance groups in Scandinavia. We have provided people with financial security for more than 160 years and have a strong tradition of innovation, product development and community involvement. We enrich the lives of our customers by providing solutions within saving, pension, financial security and banking, and by aiding and advising them in making decisions about their economy. We have 2 million customers in Sweden and Denmark, assets under management of 571 billion and 2,500 employees. Visit us at www.skandia.se.