Kinnevik AB () is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
investment company that was founded in 1936 by the
Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families.
Kinnevik is an active and long-term owner investing primarily in digital consumer businesses. Current CEO, Georgi Ganev, was appointed in 2018.
Kinnevik holds significant stakes in about 30 companies and invest in Europe, with a focus on the Nordics, the US, and selectively in other markets. Kinnevik currently operates in four sectors; Consumer Services, Financial Services, Healthcare Services and TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications). The largest holdings are
Zalando
Zalando SE is a publicly traded German online retailer of shoes, fashion and beauty. The company was founded in 2008 by David Schneider and Robert Gentz and has more than 50 million active users in 25 European markets. Zalando is active in a vari ...
,
Tele2
Tele2 AB is a Swedish telecommunications operator headquartered in the Kista Science City, Stockholm, Sweden. It is a major telephone operator in Sweden, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Tele2 also has a 25% share in T-Mobile Netherland ...
,
Millicom
Millicom International Cellular SA (NASDAQ U.S.: TIGO, NASDAQ Stockholm: TIGO_SDB) is a Luxembourgish fixed line and mobile telecommunications services provider dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America operating under the Tigo brand. As of D ...
,
Global Fashion Group,
Babylon Health
Babylon Health is a digital-first health service provider that combines an artificial intelligence powered platform with virtual clinical operations for patients. Patients are connected with health care professionals through its web and mobile ...
and Livongo.
History
Kinnevik was founded as an investment company in 1936 by Robert von Horn, Wilhelm Klingspor and
Hugo Stenbeck. The most important holdings when the company started were Mellersta Sveriges Lantbruks AB, Lidköpings Konfektyr Industri AB and Korsnäs Sågverks AB. The company grew quickly through share purchases and acquisitions of companies that included
chocolate manufacturers Nordiska Suchard and Halmstads Järnverk.
The company's aggressive acquisition strategy of Swedish industrial companies continued during Kinnevik's first decades. The ownership structure of the investment company changed as Hugo Stenbeck gradually increased his holdings.
Kinnevik became a listed company and obtained additional capital in a new share issue in 1954. The first shares in Sandvikens Järnverk were purchased a few years after entering the stock market.
Hugo Stenbeck replaced Wilhelm Klingspor as chairman of Kinnevik in the early 1960s. Shortly thereafter, Hugo Stenbeck's oldest son, Hugo Stenbeck Jr, became managing director of the company.
Hugo Stenbeck Jr died in 1976 and his younger brother,
Jan Hugo Stenbeck, joined Kinnevik's management team. Hugo Stenbeck Sr died in 1977.
The shareholding in
Sandvik AB increased steadily during the late 1970s, while Kinnevik increased its position in Fagersta AB. A major holding in the insurance company Atlantica was acquired in 1978.
Several auto companies were acquired in 1980 and were gathered under the name Svenska Motor AB. This included the import and sales of
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
vehicles.
In the early 1980s, Comvik AB launched a new mobile telephony system and after a number of legal battles with state-owned Televerket, gained a favourable ruling by The Supreme Administrative Court. In 1985, a satellite system for television distribution was completed and during the late 1980s the battle intensified with the state-owned monopolies in telecommunications, television and radio. TV3 sent its premier broadcast from London on New Year's Eve 1987. Comvik obtained authorisation to start a new mobile telephony network in 1989.
Millicom International Cellular was formed the following year.
The first Kinnevik-run radio broadcasts began in 1991. During the same year, Kinnevik became the largest owner in newly established TV4 with a 20 percent shareholding. The free newspaper
Metro International
Metro International is a Swedish global media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the ''Metro'' newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41 percent since launch of the first news ...
was launched in 1995 and the concept later spread rapidly throughout the world.
Tele2 s was founded in 1993 and listed on the Stockholm stock exchange in 1996.
In 1995,
MTG was incorporated as a subsidiary of Kinnevik, having previously been a business area (Kinnevik TV & Media). MTG was spun-off to shareholders in 1997 and listed in Stockholm and New York.
Jan Hugo Stenbeck died on 19 August 2002 and was replaced by Edvard von Horn as chairman.
Pehr G. Gyllenhammar
Pehr Gustaf Gyllenhammar (born 28 April 1935) is a Swedish businessman. He is mainly known for his 24 years as CEO and chairman of Volvo, between 1970 and 1994. In the early 1980s he took the initiative for the European Round Table of Industriali ...
became chairman in 2004 and was replaced three years later by
Cristina Stenbeck
Cristina Mayville Stenbeck, born 27 September 1977 in New York City, United States, is a Swedish business woman and investor. She is the principal owner and former executive chairman of Investment AB Kinnevik, one of the largest family-controlle ...
.
In March 2016, Cristina Stenbeck announced her intention to step down as Chairman of Kinnevik and was replaced at the 2016 AGM by Tom Boardman. Cristina Stenbeck remains a board director of Kinnevik.
Between 2005 and 2010, there was a major shift in the shareholdings in which ownership in Millicom increased and forestry shares decreased. At this time, the foundation was laid for investments in a number of internet businesses, particularly e-commerce companies. This profile was strengthened after 2010 with major investments in
Rocket Internet,
Zalando
Zalando SE is a publicly traded German online retailer of shoes, fashion and beauty. The company was founded in 2008 by David Schneider and Robert Gentz and has more than 50 million active users in 25 European markets. Zalando is active in a vari ...
, Avito and
Global Fashion Group, among others.
In 2013, Kinnevik sold all its remaining shares in BillerudKorsnäs. Zalando and Rocket Internet, two Kinnevik-backed companies, made their Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2014. In October 2015, Avito was sold to the South African media conglomerate Naspers. In 2017, Kinnevik sold its remaining shareholding in Rocket Internet.
Kinnevik today
Georgi Ganev Georgi may refer to:
* Georgi (given name)
* Georgi (surname)
See also
*Georgy (disambiguation)
*Georgii (disambiguation) Georgii may refer to:
;Given name
* Georgii Zantaraia (born 1987), Ukrainian judoka of Georgian origin
* Georgii Karpechenko ...
was appointed CEO of Kinnevik in January 2018.
Dame Amelia Fawcett was appointed Chairman of Kinnevik at the Annual General Meeting 2018.
In 2018 Kinnevik expressed its support for the merger between Tele2 and Com Hem, later the same year Kinnevik also distributed its shares in MTG to its shareholders. In 2018 Kinnevik also increased its investment in Livongo and invested in Kolonial.no, Karma,
BudBee,
Pleo
PLEO is an animatronic pet dinosaur toy manufactured by Innvo Labs, a company located in Hong Kong and Nevada. The toy has the appearance and (imagined) behavior of a week-old baby '' Camarasaurus'' dinosaur. It was designed by Caleb Chung, th ...
,
Deposit Solutions,
Cedar
and
Monese
Monese is a British-Estonian company that offers current accounts and money transfer services as an alternative to traditional banks. The mobile-only service provides accounts in Pounds sterling, Euros and Romanian leu, and is available in 31 coun ...
.
Significant holdings
Per 30 September 2019, Kinnevik's Net Asset Value amounted to SEK 92.0 billion. The largest holdings are (value corresponds to Kinnevik's ownership in SEK billions):
Shareholders
Per 30 September 2019, by votes.
References
{{Authority control
Companies based in Stockholm
Investment companies of Sweden
Stenbeck family
Financial services companies established in 1936
1936 establishments in Sweden
Companies listed on Nasdaq Stockholm