Exista
Encyclopedia
Exista hf. is an Iceland
ic financial services
group formerly listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange
. Its activities are based primarily on insurance underwriting
and other financial services, although it is also active in investment
s. The group’s primary market is the Nordic countries
.
A report published in the Danish media in 2005 identified two owners:
The paper trail shows that:
Meidur changed its name to Exista.
Exista was founded in 2001 by a consortium
of Icelandic savings bank
s as a vehicle to hold shares in Kaupthing Bank
. A controlling shareholding in Exista was sold to a holding company
of Bakkavör
founders Ágúst and Lýdur Gudmundsson in 2002. In September 2006 the firm was floated on the Iceland Stock Exchange
in a €2.6 billion initial public offering
, the biggest in the country's history. The Gudmundsson brothers continue however to hold a near-45% stake in the business. The company was delisted from the exchange in December 2008 following a share buyback
.
By 9 October 2008, Kaupthing Bank HF was forced into government receivership. On 29 July 2009 Wikileaks
exposed a confidential 210 page document listing Kaupthing's exposure to loans ranging from 45 million to 1.25 billion Euros. The leaked presentation revealed the bank had loaned billions of euros to its major shareholders, including a total of €1.43 billion to Exista
and subsidiaries which own 23% of the bank.
insurance
company Vátryggingarfélag Íslands (VÍS), which holds around one-third of the domestic market. Exista acquired control of VÍS from Kaupthing Bank in 2006. The firm also owns VÍS's sister company, the life cover provider Lífís. Exista's third consolidated subsidiary
is Lýsing, which is a provider of asset financing
.
many of these, including 20% of Sampo Group, 8.7% of Storebrand
and 39.6% of Bakkavör
, in October 2008 in order to boost its capital
position. It was also the largest single shareholder (with almost 25%) of Kaupthing Bank
before its de facto nationalisation
by the Icelandic government
.
Currently Exista holds a 29% share of JJB Sports
in conjunction with its chief executive
Chris Ronnie, and is the sole owner of Skipti, the parent company of Icelandic telecommunications provider Síminn
.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
group formerly listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange
Iceland Stock Exchange
NASDAQ OMX Iceland or ICEX was established in 1985 as a joint venture of several banks and brokerage firms on the initiative of the central bank. Trading began in 1986 in Icelandic government bonds, and trading in equities began in 1990. Equities trading increased rapidly thereafter...
. Its activities are based primarily on insurance underwriting
Underwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
and other financial services, although it is also active in investment
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
s. The group’s primary market is the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
.
Ownership
The Luxembourg-registered Exista S.A. has changed its name several times. It was originally Compagnie Financiere Scandinave.A report published in the Danish media in 2005 identified two owners:
- Shapburg Limited (P.O. Box 3186 Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands)
- Quenon Investment Limited (P.O. Box 3186 Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands)
The paper trail shows that:
- Both companies owned a stake in the Luxembourg-registered corporation Gaumur Holding, which was controlling owner of Baugur GroupBaugur GroupBaugur Group was an Icelandic investment company. The group applied for bankruptcy protection in February 2009, after placing its UK arm in administration.- History :...
. - Both companies owned a stake in the Luxembourg-registered corporation Compagnie Financiere Scandinave. A month after incorporation it was renamed the Scandinavian Holding and later Meidur. It was then renamed Exista.
- Both companies owned a stake in the Luxembourg-registered corporation Alrosa Finance. Another shareholder was Russian state-owned diamond company ALROSAAlrosaZAO ALROSA , is Russia's largest diamond company. Alrosa is engaged in the exploration, mining, manufacture and sale of diamonds. The company's operations are located primarily in the Sakha Republic/Yakutsk region. Alrosa accounts for approximately 25% of the world's rough diamond supply and 97%...
. - Shapburg Limited owned a stake in the Luxembourg-registered corporation Alfa Finance Holdings. Another shareholder was Alfa BankAlfa BankAlfa Bank, the corporate treasury of the Alfa Group, is the largest private commercial bank in Russia. Headquartered in Moscow, it operates in 7 countries, providing financial services to over 40,000 active corporate customers and 5.3 million retail clients...
of Russia.
History
According a report, Luxembourg-registered Compagnie Financiere Scandinave was renamed the Scandinavian Holding a month after incorporation. Later it was renamed Meidur S.A..Meidur changed its name to Exista.
Exista was founded in 2001 by a consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
of Icelandic savings bank
Savings bank
A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits. It may also perform some other functions.In Europe, savings banks originated in the 19th or sometimes even the 18th century. Their original objective was to provide easily accessible savings products to...
s as a vehicle to hold shares in Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank was an international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was formed by the merger of Kaupthing and Búnaðarbanki Íslands in 2003 and was the largest bank in Iceland....
. A controlling shareholding in Exista was sold to a holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
of Bakkavör
Bakkavör
Bakkavör Group hf. is an Icelandic international food manufacturing company specialising in fresh prepared foods and produce. The group operates 66 factories and employs over 20,000 people in nine countries with a pro-forma turnover in 2007 of £1.5 billion. The group’s head office is in Reykjavík...
founders Ágúst and Lýdur Gudmundsson in 2002. In September 2006 the firm was floated on the Iceland Stock Exchange
Iceland Stock Exchange
NASDAQ OMX Iceland or ICEX was established in 1985 as a joint venture of several banks and brokerage firms on the initiative of the central bank. Trading began in 1986 in Icelandic government bonds, and trading in equities began in 1990. Equities trading increased rapidly thereafter...
in a €2.6 billion initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
, the biggest in the country's history. The Gudmundsson brothers continue however to hold a near-45% stake in the business. The company was delisted from the exchange in December 2008 following a share buyback
Share repurchase
Stock repurchase is the reacquisition by a company of its own stock. In some countries, including the U.S. and the UK, a corporation can repurchase its own stock by distributing cash to existing shareholders in exchange for a fraction of the company's outstanding equity; that is, cash is exchanged...
.
By 9 October 2008, Kaupthing Bank HF was forced into government receivership. On 29 July 2009 Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
exposed a confidential 210 page document listing Kaupthing's exposure to loans ranging from 45 million to 1.25 billion Euros. The leaked presentation revealed the bank had loaned billions of euros to its major shareholders, including a total of €1.43 billion to Exista
Exista
Exista hf. is an Icelandic financial services group formerly listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange. Its activities are based primarily on insurance underwriting and other financial services, although it is also active in investments. The group’s primary market is the Nordic countries.-Ownership:The...
and subsidiaries which own 23% of the bank.
Insurance and financial services
Exista owns the Icelandic non-lifeLife insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
company Vátryggingarfélag Íslands (VÍS), which holds around one-third of the domestic market. Exista acquired control of VÍS from Kaupthing Bank in 2006. The firm also owns VÍS's sister company, the life cover provider Lífís. Exista's third consolidated subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
is Lýsing, which is a provider of asset financing
Asset-backed security
An asset-backed security is a security whose value and income payments are derived from and collateralized by a specified pool of underlying assets. The pool of assets is typically a group of small and illiquid assets that are unable to be sold individually...
.
Investments
Prior to the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, Exista held a number of significant stakes in publicly-traded companies. It opted to divestDivestment
In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for either financial or ethical objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm...
many of these, including 20% of Sampo Group, 8.7% of Storebrand
Storebrand
Storebrand is a financial services company in Norway. By volume, the company's main activities are related to life insurance and pension savings. However, the company also has major divisions working on investments, banking and, since 2006, P&C insurance products...
and 39.6% of Bakkavör
Bakkavör
Bakkavör Group hf. is an Icelandic international food manufacturing company specialising in fresh prepared foods and produce. The group operates 66 factories and employs over 20,000 people in nine countries with a pro-forma turnover in 2007 of £1.5 billion. The group’s head office is in Reykjavík...
, in October 2008 in order to boost its capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
position. It was also the largest single shareholder (with almost 25%) of Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank
Kaupthing Bank was an international Icelandic bank, headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was formed by the merger of Kaupthing and Búnaðarbanki Íslands in 2003 and was the largest bank in Iceland....
before its de facto nationalisation
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
by the Icelandic government
Politics of Iceland
Politics of Iceland takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Iceland is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. It is arguably the world's oldest parliamentary democracy. Executive power is exercised by the...
.
Currently Exista holds a 29% share of JJB Sports
JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc is a United Kingdom sports retailer. It currently operates 251 stores in the UK and Ireland.- History :The sportshop chain was founded in 1971, when ex-footballer Dave Whelan acquired a single sports shop in Wigan. The original store was established by JJ Broughton in the early...
in conjunction with its chief executive
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Chris Ronnie, and is the sole owner of Skipti, the parent company of Icelandic telecommunications provider Síminn
Síminn
Síminn, previously named Landssíminn, is an Icelandic telecommunications company. It was acquired by Exista in 2008.-History:Telecommunications play a vital role in Iceland. Although the country's population is relatively small , its penetration rates for network-related products and services are...
.