Latour's history in brief

Latour's history in brief

Latour was founded in 1985 when the Douglas family acquired the majority stake in the listed investment company AB Hevea. Originally, the Douglas family held a significant ownership position in the Skrinet group, where there were other significant shareholders. However, there were different opinions on which assets should be owned and with what perspective. In an agreement with the other owners, AB Hevea could be acquired in exchange for the family's ownership in the Skrinet group. With Hevea came significant ownership positions in, among others, Trelleborg, Boliden, Almedahl-Dahlsjöfors, and 95 percent of the security company Securitas.

Excerpt from Gustaf Douglas' book, "Med blicken på stigen": "At home at the kitchen table, we agreed to try to aim significantly higher. I wanted a listed company as a base for an investment business in industrial companies. My role would be an active owner, not to vote with my feet but to take responsibility for governance and control with good confidence in my own ability."
The foundation for what is today Investment AB Latour was thus laid. The name was changed in 1987 to Investment AB Latour.

Important milestones
Since then, Latour, with active ownership and long-term perspective as the most important keywords, has been involved in building a leading portfolio of international industrial companies. Latour has a very long-term view of the investments made. Good examples of this are Securitas and ASSA ABLOY, which are still in the portfolio. Securitas has practically been involved since the start, and ASSA ABLOY came in when Securitas first acquired the Swedish lock factory ASSA in the late 1980s and later also acquired Finnish ABLOY in 1994. In connection with this, ASSA ABLOY was separately listed and distributed to shareholders with Latour as the largest owner.

The development of ASSA ABLOY and Securitas from Nordic industrial companies to global leading industrial companies in their respective industries was so successful that it largely came to manifest Latour's development between 1985 and 2005. This does not mean that other holdings developed weakly.

Another important landmark for Latour was in 1992 when a bid was made for the then listed company Almedahl-Fagerhult through payment with Latour shares. The deal was completed in 1993 and should be seen in the wake of the Swedish currency crisis, which had a major negative impact on Sweden in the early 1990s, and thus Latour's ownership share increased from 38 percent to 100 percent. Latour's wholly-owned industrial and trading business had been formed, giving Latour greater security through control of the cash flows created.

Latour is henceforth a so-called mixed investment company.

Industrial building but also divestments
Latour's long-term perspective should not be misunderstood as the notion that holdings are never divested. Although it does not happen every year and the portfolio is relatively intact, Latour has over the years divested significant assets even if it has been a matter of majority stakes. Examples of this are the divestment of Boliden (1986), Trelleborg (1993), Securitas Direct (2008), OEM International (2009), Munters and Elanders (2010), Niscayah (2011), and Loomis (2016).

Similar examples exist in the wholly-owned industrial business where, for example, all holdings in the textile industry were divested until 2008, and holdings with trade and agency elements until 2011. Furthermore, industrial companies with significant customer exposure to the automotive industry have been divested.

Our investment criteria are based on our experiences
The investment criteria that Latour lives with and works according to today have not emerged from a concentrated strategic process with the help of consultants but are entirely based on the experiences made over all the years. Over the years, we have made a number of acquisitions and quite a few divestments. The most important experiences, however, have been made during the ownership of all the fine companies that either remain or have been divested. We have made both good deals and some less good ones. As owners, we have always put the interests of the owned company first.

Latour's portfolio today is significantly different compared to the start. The wholly-owned business is today a significant part of the entire Latour, and the listed portfolio consists of 10 holdings where Latour is the main owner. The value concentration around the holdings in ASSA ABLOY and Securitas that emerged between 1985 – 2005 has gradually balanced out as other holdings have grown in importance.

"At home at the kitchen table, we agreed to try to aim significantly higher. I wanted a listed company as a base for an investment business in industrial companies. My role would be an active owner, not to vote with my feet but to take responsibility for governance and control with good confidence in my own ability."

Excerpt from Gustaf Douglas' book, "Med blicken på stigen"