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    Hagar put up for sale
    18.10.2010

    Hagar put up for sale

    Formal sale process of Arion Bank’s share in Hagar about to commence

    Arion Bank seeks anchor investors in Hagar to play key role in company’s affairs. The aim is to offer professional and general investors shares in Hagar and to list the company on the Icelandic stock market.

    Arion Bank is commencing the process of selling its share in the retail company Hagar. The Bank currently holds 99.5% of outstanding shares in the company. The first step will be to offer for sale an anchor investment in order to attract investors who can play a key role in the company's affairs. Once the core holding in Hagar has been established, professional and general investors will have the opportunity to invest in the company, and subsequently the aim is to list the company's shares on the Icelandic stock exchange

    Arion Bank plans to sell a 15-29% stake in Hagar to an anchor investor. The Bank will, however, examine all offers it receives for its share in the company. Therefore investors interested in acquiring the Bank’s entire share have the opportunity to submit such a bid in the first phase of the sale process. Further details of this first phase of the sale process will be advertised at the end of the week.

    Arion Bank’s Corporate Advisory division is managing the sale and the listing of Hagar, which is planned next year. The Bank is also being advised by the Capital Markets division of Svenska Handelsbanken.

    Höskuldur H. Ólafsson, CEO of Arion Bank:
    “Part of the process of reconstructing the Icelandic business sector is for the Bank to sell its holding in Hagar and to normalise the company’s ownership structure. The company is the largest retail company in Iceland and performs a vital role in this market across the country. Hagar is a robust company which has performed solidly in this challenging economic climate and it has a strong balance sheet. We believe that Hagar represents an attractive opportunity for investors.”

    Arion Bank acquired its shareholding in Hagar when it took over the holding company 1998 in October 2009. The retail chain 10-11 has already been removed from Hagar Group and is currently preparing to be sold. An agreement has also been reached on the sale of Hagar's interest in SMS, which runs a food retail business in the Faroe Islands.

    Hagar had a turnover of ISK 65 billion and EBITDA amounted to ISK 4 billion in the financial year 2009/2010, taking organisational changes into account. Hagar Group includes the retail chains Bónus and Hagkaup, Útilíf, stores in Iceland under the brand names All Saints, Coast, Day, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Karen Millen, Oasis, Top Shop, Warehouse and Zara, and the logistics companies Aðföng, Hýsing, Bananar and Ferskar kjötvörur.