Sweden's Investor Buys 8% Wartsila Stake Deal Makes Investor Wartsila's Largest Shareholder With a 16.8% Stake
STOCKHOLM— Investor INVE-B.SK +0.31% AB, the investment vehicle of Sweden's Wallenberg family, has bought additional shares in Finland's Wartsila worth €639 million ($824.8 million), making it the company's largest shareholder with a 16.8% stake.
Investor has held shares in the ship engine manufacturer since 2011, and in 2012 formed a joint venture with Fiskars that saw the two companies holding a 21.8% stake between them. Through the deal announced Friday, the joint venture will be dissolved and Investor will pay Fiskars €40.55 a share for 15.8 million shares, or 8% of Wartsila.
Investor's chief executive Borje Ekholm said: "Based on its leading market positions, strong growth potential and large exposure to emerging markets and aftermarket sales, we view Wartsila as an attractive long-term investment."
The transaction is expected to be completed within the coming weeks, after which Investor's ownership in Wartsila will total 33.1 million shares, or 16.8%. Fiskars retains a 5% holding in Wartsila after the deal, from an original stake of 13%.