Ratos AB: Ratos has sold its holding of 23,6% in Arcus

2017-03-20

Press release 20 March 2017 

Ratos has sold its shareholding of 23,6% in Arcus ASA (publ) ("Arcus") to Canica AS and Sundt AS. The sale was made at a price of NOK 47,40 per share, a total of NOK 762m, and gives an estimated exit gain of approximately SEK 30m. Following the sale, Ratos owns no shares in Arcus.

Ratos has agreed to sell a total of 16,077,244 shares in Arcus at a price of NOK 47,40 per share to the existing shareholders Canica AS (15,200,000) and Sundt AS (877,244). The sale has been carried out with the consent of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Publ) and ABG Sundal Collier ASA who acted as Joint Global Coordinators in connection with Arcus initial public offering. Canica AS and Sundt AS has agreed to adhere to the lock-up, originally entered into by Ratos at the time of the initial public offering, for the remainder of the lock-up period.

The selling price amounts to NOK 762m and generates an estimated exit gain of approximately
SEK 30m. Arcus was listed in December 2016 on the Oslo Børs and, following this sale, has yielded an estimated total exit gain of approximately SEK 1,430m and an average annual return (IRR) of approximately 30% and a money multiple totaling about 5,7x in SEK (6,2x in NOK).

"During our eleven-year ownership, Arcus has developed from a Norwegian spirits producer into the Nordic region's leading supplier of wines and spirits. Following the successful IPO, it has had a positive performance on the stock exchange. When Canica AS, Arcus second largest owner and an investor we very much respect, contacted us and gave an offer on our holding stake we thought it was appropriate to hand over the reins to a new main owner. This sale enables capture of the value created over time and is in line with Ratos's strategy to acquire, develop and divest companies," says Mikael Norlander, Investment Director at Ratos.

For further information, please contact:
Helene Gustafsson, Head of IR and Press Ratos, +46 8 700 17 98
Mikael Norlander, Investment Director Ratos, +46 8 700 17 24

Financial calendar from Ratos:
Annual General Meeting                         6 April 2017
Interim report January-March 2017        8 May 2017
Interim report January-June 2017           17 August 2017
Interim report January-September 2017 14 November 2017

Ratos is an investment company that owns and develops unlisted medium-sized companies in the Nordic countries. Our goal as an active owner is to contribute to long-term and sustainable business development in the companies we invest in and to make value-generating transactions. Ratos's portfolio consists of 18 medium-sized Nordic companies and the largest segments in terms of sales are Consumer goods/Commerce, Construction and Energy. Ratos is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has a total of approximately 14,500 employees.