The partly Danish-owned tobacco giant Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) has revealed that it is pursuing a listing, according to Børsen business newspaper.
Jørgen Tandrup, the head of STG, believes that the stock market is beneficial at the moment, and it has hired the investment bank JP Morgan to look into the possible strategic options of a change in ownership.
“A listing could be a good option, if there is to be any changes in the ownership structure,” Tandrup told Børsen. “The stock market is attractive at the moment.”
STG is jointly owned by the two Danish funds Augustinus and Det Obelske Familiefond (51 percent stake), while Swedish tobacco company Swedish Match owns the remaining 49 percent.
October 'fest'
A shareholders' agreement between the three parties is scheduled to end in October, which is then expected to kick-off the listing process.
“The stockholders have identified a financial advisor to evaluate future ownership structure options,” Tandrup said.
Analysts have estimated that STG is worth about 10-11 times its operating profit, which is around 11 billion kroner, and a prospective listing would compare to the listing of the marine fuel distribution company OW Bunker, which occurred this spring.
STG – with a head office in the Copenhagen suburb of Søborg – consists of 33 companies within the tobacco industry and employs about 9,500 people globally, including around 500 in Denmark.
