Sampo, a Nordic insurance group, is exiting its investment in Saxo Group by selling 19.8 percent of the stake in the Danish broker to Mandatum, an asset manager based in Finland. The deal was a part of the demerger of Sampo and Mandatum completed in 2023.

Change in Saxo Bank’s Ownership

“Sampo has today finalised the arrangements related to the sale of its 19.8% stake in Saxo Bank to Mandatum, as agreed in connection with the partial demerger completed in 2023,” the announcement noted.

The sale has already received the required regulatory approvals on May 3 and is expected to be completed on May 13.

The two companies have set the price of the transaction at EUR 302 million, which was agreed in the demerger process, adjusted for the dividend received. Although Sampo offered a vendor loan of EUR 280 million to Mandatum for the transaction, the latter decided to settle the transaction in cash.

Saxo Investors

Apart from Sampo, other investors in Saxo are Chinese carmaker Geely, which holds 50 percent of the broker, and co-founder and CEO, Kim Fournais, who owns 28 percent. Last year, Saxo Bank sold its stake in the regulatory technology platform Saxo Fintech to Geely Holding Group, marking a significant shift in the firm’s ownership structure.

Lars Seier Christensen, the other co-founder of Saxo Bank who was co-CEO for two decades, divested his stakes in the brokerage in 2017. He then established his investment arm, Seier Capital, with notable investments, including the co-ownership of the Danish football team FC Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, Saxo Bank is reportedly contemplating selling its minority or majority stake at a valuation between EUR 1.5 billion and EUR 2 billion. Earlier, the Danish broker entered into a SPAC deal to take the company public, but that failed due to “market conditions.” Interestingly, Fournais hinted at another attempt to take the company public after the failed SPAC deal.