Financial Times, November 12, 2007

In the article, Jacob Wallenberg comments on the history and values of the Wallenbergs as a business family, and Investor’s investment philosophy, among other subjects. 

“There is no business family like the Wallenbergs, now in their fifth generation…Their holdings include many of the pillars of corporate Sweden: Electrolux, Ericsson, Scania, Saab, ABB and AstraZeneca,” writes Skapinker.

The article outlines the 150-year-old history of the Wallenbergs, commenting on the founding of the family bank in Sweden by André Wallenberg in 1856, which laid the foundation for the family business and later Investor AB. (This bank is SEB today, one of Investor’s largest core investments and a large Northern European institution chaired by Jacob Wallenberg’s cousin, Marcus Wallenberg, also former CEO of Investor.)

As the article notes, Investor AB was established in 1916, when Sweden prohibited banks from owning shares and the family founded Investor to hold the stakes instead. The article also mentions the founding of the non-profit Wallenberg foundations to finance scientific and educational research in Sweden. These foundations are the largest owners of Investor today.

Mr. Skapinker then comments on Investor's core investments in Swedish blue chips, around 80 percent of assets, and Investor’s stakes in unlisted companies, the remaining 20 percent.

In the interview, Jacob Wallenberg said that Investor would like to see the unlisted and private equity part of the business grow to 25 percent. He also noted that Investor invests for the long-term and is very much involved in its holdings, working through board representatives supported by business teams. These teams, he commented, analyze the holdings and monitor the competition and their markets in the same fashion as the company has worked for more than 90 years to build best-in-class companies.

Other subjects covered the article included Jacob Wallenberg’s entrance into the family business, the so-called discount to Investor’s net asset value of its holdings, and Jacob Wallenberg’s views on Swedish companies keeping their headquarters in Sweden.

Information updated 2007-11-14 10:25:59