Sweden

Swede tissue bid justifies breakups without tears

13 Apr 2017

Forestry group SCA reportedly received an offer for the hygiene business it is about to demerge. Above $22 bln for the unit’s equity would be good. Either way, SCA has given itself options. Others faced with calls to break up, from Akzo Nobel to BHP Billiton, can take note.

Spotify considers listing without I, P and O

7 Apr 2017

The $8.5 bln music-streaming service may float shares without raising capital. A new deal with Universal could make cash needs less urgent. Private funding also has altered startup models. Even so, there's a reason most firms don't march to the beat of a different IPO drummer.

H&M may struggle to dress two markets

30 Mar 2017

Sales at the fashion retailer missed its target, sending shares close to a four-year low. H&M is opening stores in fast-growing emerging markets, while launching a posh new brand to liven up flagging rich-country sales. It’s tough to find a business model that suits both.

Ericsson has solid targets but odd repair man

29 Mar 2017

Boss Borje Ekholm has new objectives to sort out the Swedish telecom-kit maker, whose stock has halved in value since mid-2015. Lifting depressed margins would be a challenge even for an outsider. It will be especially tricky given he sat on Ericsson’s board as it misfired.

Korea fraud electrifies case for ABB spinoff

22 Feb 2017

The Swiss group suspects its South Korean treasurer helped steal $100 million. Fraud equivalent to a fifth of 2015 local sales was only uncovered after the executive absconded. This plays into the hands of activist investors who wanted ABB to become less complex.

Handelsbanken’s love for clients has a downside

8 Feb 2017

The Swedish lender posted a 23 pct year-on-year drop in fourth-quarter earnings after a $40 mln charge on a loan made by its Danish business. Handelsbanken boasts its customers are happy. If some are getting easy credit, investors may wish they were less so.

H&M’s new sales target could fray quickly

31 Jan 2017

The Swedish fast-fashion chain is now targeting annual sales growth rather than how many new stores it opens. Its new goal of 10-15 percent growth is ambitious. With margins under pressure, an unexpected increase in pretax profit in the fourth quarter may be a passing fad.

Chinese tycoon turns cinema buyout into big score

27 Jan 2017

AMC, the cinema chain backed by China's richest man, is paying nearly $1 bln to become the Nordic No. 1. After a short stint in the director's chair, sellers Bridgepoint will enjoy a blockbuster return. It pays to be a seller when an A-lister like Wang Jianlin has an epic vision.

Hexagon CEO probe adds to Swedish governance murk

31 Oct 2016

Norwegian authorities have detained the $13 bln Swedish IT company's boss, Ola Rollen, for suspected insider trading. Rollen, who denies the charges, has grown Hexagon's market cap over 50-fold. After misdeeds at the likes of Swedbank, local scandals are no longer even a shock.

GE plays tactical hardball with Elliott

27 Oct 2016

The U.S. industrial firm is feuding with the hedge fund over two 3D-printing companies. It refused to cave in to Elliott on one, opting for a rival instead, and raised its bid on the other. This is a decent enough compromise and will stop activists from seeing GE as easy prey.

Ericsson bloat puts reverse charge call on shares

21 Oct 2016

The $18 bln Swedish telecoms kit maker burned through cash in the third quarter and lost revenue in its key North American market. The gory details follow last week’s profit warning. Ericsson's huge cost base has left it floundering as demand for mobile broadband upgrades slows.

Ericsson’s poor strategy rings in fresh pain

12 Oct 2016

The Swedish telecom company's dividend is at risk after third-quarter operating income slumped more than 90 percent. Industry peers are also exposed to falling demand for mobile network kit. But Ericsson has cut costs too slowly and embarked on misguided diversification.

Bedroom musicians may amplify Spotify profit issue

29 Sep 2016

The Swedish streaming group is in talks to buy SoundCloud, a site where amateur musicians upload songs for free. It would bring 175 mln monthly listeners and additional industry clout. But buying a loss-making group might not help Spotify address its key goal: turning a profit.

Spotify’s investor pitch sounds off-key

8 Sep 2016

The Swedish group may restrict access to new albums to secure lower record-label fees. Music costs are rising faster than sales and need to be cut ahead of a possible IPO. An $8.5 billion private funding valuation hinges on the tricky task of weaning customers off free music.

Handelsbanken partly untangles knotty problems

25 Aug 2016

The Swedish lender has sold its 6.8 pct stake in Industrivarden, distancing itself from the conglomerate’s corporate jet scandal. This also boosts its capital, ahead of potentially punitive reforms. But Handelsbanken’s new boss still needs to prove he is his own man.

Unilever finds new ways to banish grubbiness

16 Aug 2016

The consumer goods giant is buying Blueair, a posh Swedish air purifier that is big in China and Japan. It follows a $1 billion purchase of subscription service Dollar Shave Club. On one hand, both are strategic shifts; on the other, they’re just creative takes on cleanliness.

Handelsbanken harsh streak hints at racier future

16 Aug 2016

The Swedish lender fired boss Frank Vang-Jensen after just 18 months following an alleged power grab. Handelsbanken has sector-topping returns and was teacher's pet in Europe's stress tests. A new plan to grow abroad implies over-centralisation wasn't the ex-CEO's sole failing.

SAF-Holland lacks firepower in truck bidding war

4 Aug 2016

The truck parts maker’s $490 million offer for Swedish peer Haldex was trumped by Germany’s ZF Friedrichshafen, which offered just 6 percent more. SAF is already stretching itself and will struggle to outbid a much bigger rival that has the target’s support.

Swedish solvency scuffle ominous for EU bank peers

23 Jun 2016

Sweden’s regulator has played down a report that Nordea faces a $9.8 bln capital hole. But fears of solvency standardisation still riled investors, who had assumed watchdogs were rolling over. With global standard-setters mulling “capital floors”, expect more discombobulation.

Eurovision puts Ukraine in helpful spotlight

16 May 2016

Kiev’s pride in winning Saturday’s annual croon-fest has a downside: it has to pay to host next year’s. Russia has pointed out Ukraine has a ropey economy and a war in the east. The experience of former hosts, though, suggests there could be a return on the investment.