There was much excitement about the historical nature of Elopak’s admission to listing today; Ferd’s largest and oldest company is the first that the Andresen family and Ferd have taken public. The bell to mark the start of trading was rung by Marianne Andresen, who is the mother of Johan H. Andresen, Ferd’s main owner and the Chair of its Board of Directors, and the widow of Johan H. Andresen Sr., who was one of Elopak’s two founders in 1957.
SUSTAINABLE AND CARBON-NEUTRAL
“We are proud of how Elopak has developed during the Andresen family’s and Ferd’s ownership. Hard work, skilled employees and a supportive owner have made the company into the world’s third largest manufacturer of carton packaging for liquid food products and a global leader in packaging for fresh milk and juice. Today Elopak is one of Norway’s most international companies, and with its sustainability profile it has great potential to achieve further global growth”, comments Morten Borge, the CEO of Ferd. Morten adds that Ferd expects the company to continue to grow and that Ferd will therefore continue to be a major and long-term owner.
Trond Solberg, Investment Professional and Co-Head of Ferd Capital, thinks Elopak’s ability to innovate and adapt is impressive. Today the company is able to provide 100% carbon-neutral packaging, while the group itself is certified carbon-neutral.
“However, the time was ripe for it to raise more capital by listing. The aim was to broaden the shareholder base and give Elopak greater financial flexibility in order to facilitate further growth”, explains Trond Solberg, who together with colleagues Gustav Martinsen, Manuel Arbiol and Danjal Danjalsson were responsible for Ferd’s role in the listing of Elopak, and in general are responsible for the day-to-day monitoring of Ferd’s ownership of the company.
FINANCIAL STRENGTH
The listing was brought about in part by Ferd selling a proportion of the 99.7% of the shares in Elopak that it previously owned, and in part by the company issuing new shares.
“The share issue raised around NOK 500 million in new equity for the company. At a share price of NOK 28 per share, this gives Elopak a market capitalisation of NOK 7.5 billion”, explains Trond Solberg.
He adds that this will give Elopak the financial strength to consolidate its position in its existing markets and to expand into new markets, both geographically and in the form of new customer categories.
“Elopak’s stronger capital base will also further enhance its product development capabilities. Elopak has one of the biggest research and development departments in Norwegian industry, and it has demonstrated that it is one of the most innovative businesses in its industry. This may facilitate not only new products for beverages but also carton-based packaging for other product categories where environmental sustainability is important”, comments Trond Solberg, who also explains that Elopak already has such cartons on the market, and is well underway with its development of additional products.