FAM, Navigare Ventures, Nineteen Private Capital, and Thisbe have been integrated into Wallenberg Investments, to develop and simplify the ownership governance and capital management of the Wallenberg foundations. Asset management is now organized into five investment units: Industrials, Real Assets, Alternative Funds, Special Investments and Ventures. Read more below.

FAM invests SEK 500 million in new joint venture to support companies during the coronavirus crisis

FAM, SEB and AMF together are investing SEK 3.5 billion in a joint venture – Sindre Invest AB – to support Swedish companies that need capital for business continuity during the coronavirus crisis.

Due to the economic turbulence triggered by the current pandemic, many companies are having a very tough time at the moment. To help them weather out the crisis, the Swedish government has launched a wide range of support measures while SEB and other banks are doing their utmost to help their customers by providing loans, advice, and other support. Major investors such as the AMF life insurance company have also injected additional capital in companies for new stock issues.

Many of these measures, which primarily aim to solve the liquidity problems of the companies, will not be enough. As the crisis endures, a large number of companies will also have to make additional cash infusions. It is this need that sparked the idea for Sindre Invest AB, a joint-venture company created by SEB, AMF, and FAM together with the Wallenberg Foundations. We see a great need among well-managed and viable Swedish unlisted companies to strengthen their balance sheets with additional funding and want to support these companies through the crisis with the help of private equity.

Sindre will invest in medium-sized Swedish companies that were successful before the crisis, which are expected to be so again after the economy has become more normal. Sindre is expected to invest mainly in unlisted private and family-owned companies that do not have access to the stock market. The target group is companies with at least 250 employees and sales of more than SEK 300 million.

Sindre will enter the selected companies as a minority shareholder, with the stated aim that the existing owners will be able to redeem Sindre's ownership stake when the crisis is over. The plan is to invest between SEK 50 million and SEK 400 million per company in the form of subordinated venture capital in equity or debt form. The idea is that the investments will run for 3-5 years and that Sindre will operate for a total of ten years. Sindre will invest on market terms that reflect the risk and estimated potential of the companies.

AMF is contributing SEK 2 billion to Sindre. SEB is investing SEK 1 billion, of which the pension and insurance company SEB Pension & Försäkring will contribute SEK 100 million. SEB will also provide staff and expertise. FAM and the three largest Wallenberg Foundations are investing SEK 500 million, of which FAM SEK 400 million.

"The picture we are seeing is that many companies are struggling with the help of government financial relief programs and credit facilities. These work for a period of time, but our assessment is that many companies will need more venture capital to survive and live through the crisis. The purpose of Sindre is to be a bridge from now to a better future”, says Jan Amethier, who is leaving SEB to become CEO of the new independent company.

"I am pleased that we, together with like-minded partners, can accelerate and broaden our work in a powerful way to invest in viable Swedish companies that need capital to get through the economic crisis we are in. We believe that it is good for our policyholders, good for companies and also good for Sweden as a whole”, says Johan Sidenmark, CEO AMF.

"The investment in Sindre gives us an opportunity to create the financial conditions that will allow companies with sound business models to survive during a challenging period", says Håkan Buskhe, CEO FAM.

Sindre will be an independent company whose board of directors will consist of one representative from each of the three investment partners. The board will be headed by an independent chairperson from one of the parties. Birgitta Stymne Göransson, who is chairperson of the board of Industrifonden, a Nordic venture capital investor, and BCB Medical, a provider of healthcare information systems, has been appointed to this role.

The company will also have an investment committee comprised of experienced people from the business and financial world. These will be recruited by Sindre's owners based on their valuable competencies but they will not be persons employed by the owners. To get started quickly – Sindre will be up and running and able to invest as of July 1 – the company will hire employees from SEB with relevant experience from investments and credit management, and with broad equity and debt financing backgrounds.

For more information please contact:

Frank Hojem
Head of Corporate Communications at SEB
Phone + 46 8-763 9947
[email protected]

Jens Söderblom
Press Officer at AMF
Phone +46 8-696 30 85
[email protected]

Laura Bergtoft
Head of Communications at FAM and the Wallenberg Foundations
Phone +46 73-515 22 61
[email protected]