Ratos


Ratos AB is a Swedish private equity company founded in 1934 and still controlled by the Söderberg family. Ratos is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

History

The Söderberg brothers established Ratos in the 1933, as a holding company for the family's growing enterprises. At the time the family was owners of Söderberg & Haak. Ratos developed with extensive ownership in companies such as Stora Kopparberg, Gränges and Esselte in addition to a wholly owned steel division. It was listed on the stock exchange in 1954.
In 1979 the steel division, that at the time was called Tibnor, was sold to the state owned SSAB as part of the re-organization of the crisis hit steel industry. After that the company expanded into new areas, including a larger number of transport companies, the hotel chain Scandic Hotels and the plumbing chain Dahl International. During this period Sven Söderberg was President and CEO.
The financial crisis hit Ratos with reduced profits in 1992 and Urban Jansson was appointed new CEO and the subsidiaries were either floated on the stock exchange or sold. After Arne Karlsson took over as CEO, Ratos was transformed to a private equity company.
Magnus Agervald was appointed as CEO of Ratos in July 2016, replacing acting CEO Lars Johansson.
In 2019, Ratos sold the Adelswärdska house, the building on Drottninggatan in Stockholm where the head office is located. Buyers were the National Property Board of Sweden. The reason for the sale was the increasingly increased safety requirements in the environment, as the building lies between the Sagerska palace and Rosenbad and the area was increasingly blocked off. The property was purchased by Söderberg & Haak in 1938 and later became rated. Ratos may dispose of the building until 2021.

Holdings

Industry

  • AH Industries – metal components and services to the wind power, offshore and marine industries.
  • Camfil – clean air technology and air filters.
  • Contex Group – developer and manufacturer.
  • DIAB – manufactures and develops core materials for composite structures.
  • EuroMaint – maintenance companies and offers maintenance services to the rail transport sector and industry.
  • GS-Hydro – supplier of non-welded piping systems.
  • HL Display – supplier of products and systems for merchandising and in-store communication.
  • Inwido – manufactures and sells windows and doors to consumers, construction companies and modular home manufacturers.
  • Jøtul – manufacturer of stoves and fireplaces.
  • Lindab – development, production, marketing and distribution of systems and products in sheet metal and steel for the construction industry.
  • MCC – offers complete climate comfort systems.
  • Medisize – manufacturer specialised in medical devices for delivery and administration of drugs and pharmaceutical packaging.
  • Superfos – develops, produces and sells injection moulded packaging for the food, paint and chemical industries.

    Service

  • Anticimex – services for healthy and safe indoor environments.
  • Bisnode – provider of digital business information.

    Consumer goods

  • Arcus Gruppen – wine and spirits producer.
  • Hafa Bathroom Group – bathroom furnishing.

    Other holdings

  • BTJ Group – supplier of media products and information services to libraries, universities, companies and organisations.
  • IK Investment Partners – Ratos has invested in four funds: 1989, 1994, 1997 and 2000.
  • Overseas Telecom – telecom operations in developing countries.