Latest news with #LeivSynnes
The Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
SBB surge on Aker deal to benefit creditors
The deal marks the next major step forward for the once-embattled real estate company as it seeks new investors amid looming debt maturities. — Bloomberg STOCKHOLM: Shares and bonds in Sweden's SBB rally after Norwegian industrial investment group Aker ASA became the commercial landlord's new main shareholder. The deal, in which Aker's property unit took a 9.08% stake in SBB, marks the next major step forward for the once-embattled real estate company as it seeks new investors amid looming debt maturities. Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden AB, as the group is formally known, will also benefit from improved cash flow and debt metrics, according to chief executive officer Leiv Synnes. 'There's the added benefit of how SBB is perceived,' Synnes said on Tuesday. 'The company is starting to do things that creditors will like.' In addition, Aker agreed to acquire a stake in Public Property Invest AS, a Norwegian property group where SBB is the majority shareholder. 'Aker is prepared and willing to allocate more capital when needed, provided the business case meets our investment criteria,' Aker chief executive officer Oyvind Eriksen said. 'That mindset applies to our stakes in PPI and SBB.' SBB shares jumped as much as 26%, the most since September 2023, in Stockholm. The company's hybrid notes were marked 4.6 US cents on the euro, higher at a bid price of 68.09 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Aker's Eriksen added that he expected the investment in SBB to 'exceed over time' the 10% annual return target to the investment group's shareholders. Under the terms of the deal, SBB will issue 164 million class-B shares to Aker Property Group at a value of 4.25 kronor apiece. Aker will become SBB's largest shareholder and the equity issuance will lower SBB's loan-to-value ratio to less than 60%, according to Synnes. 'Aker Property Group is a strong owner that can help us in this transaction and in the future,' Synnes said. There's also the increased possibility of a dividend at PPI, which in turn should help SBB's cash flow as it will now hold more shares in the Norwegian group, he added. SBB also published an earnings report for the first quarter on Tuesday, where it announced the formation of two wholly-owned subsidiaries for the community property portfolio, SBB Samhalle and SBB Utveckling. Synnes said the motivation for doing this was to appoint specialists within the company to handle specific property types. Those working in the Utveckling unit will be focused on development projects, while Samhalle will be centred on the management of cash flow generative properties. 'The division makes it easier to attract capital to Samhalle,' Synnes said. 'That will be creditors in the first instance or even equity partners in the future.' — Bloomberg
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Sweden's SBB reports $194 million profit before tax in Q1 2025
GDANSK: Swedish landlord SBB swung to a pre-tax profit in the first quarter of 2025 after eleven consecutive quarterly losses, it said on Tuesday, while separately announcing a deal that would make Norway 's Aker Property Group its largest shareholder. The debt-laden real estate group, which owns properties such as hospitals and care homes in Sweden , reported a January-March profit before tax of 1.9 billion Swedish crowns ($194 million), compared with a revised loss of 1.18 billion a year earlier. SBB was one of many European real estate firms that had to cut debt and restructure their finances amid a period of high interest rates and economic weakness, particularly in Sweden, although market conditions started to stabilise last year. Its net operating income fell to 510 million crowns in the first quarter from 736 million a year earlier. However, lower costs helped the metric rise 4.3% in comparable portfolios. "SBB is now allocating resources and focusing on its occupancy ratio and rental level to ensure that there is every opportunity for income to improve going forward," CEO Leiv Synnes said in a statement. In a separate press release, SBB said it had secured the right to buy another 39.8 million shares in its associate company Public Property Invest (PPI) from Aker Property Group (APG), part of Norway's Aker. That would make APG its largest shareholder by share capital, with a 9.08% stake. The deal follows PPI's issuance of new shares in exchange for an industrial infrastructure portfolio worth 2.33 billion Norwegian crowns ($223.73 million) from TRG Real Estate, which is controlled by Aker Chair Kjell Inge Rokke. TRG has agreed to transfer a portion of the PPI shares to SBB in exchange for 164.6 million new B-shares in the Swedish group. It would then transfer both the right to receive its remaining PPI shares and the SBB shares to APG, Aker said in a statement. SBB remains the largest shareholder in PPI, while APG would become its second biggest shareholder. "Rokke obviously sees great potential in this, as the non-cash issues are made in companies ... that are valued at net asset value discounts," Carlsquare analyst Bertil Nilsson said. Shares in SBB rose 20% in early trading in Stockholm. They have lost about 90% of their value since peaking in 2021. PPI's shares gained 5.9% in Oslo.
New Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Debt-Laden SBB ends losing streak with first-quarter profit
KUALA LUMPUR: Swedish real estate group SBB swung to a pre-tax profit in the first quarter of 2025 after eleven straight quarterly losses, it said on Tuesday. The debt-laden landlord, which owns properties such as hospitals and care homes in Sweden, reported a January-March profit before tax of 1.9 billion Swedish crowns (US$194 million), compared with a revised loss of 1.18 billion a year earlier. SBB was among several European real estate groups that had to cut debt and restructure amid a period of high interest rates and economic weakness, particularly in Sweden, although market conditions started to stabilise last year. Its net operating income fell to 510 million crowns in the first quarter from 736 million a year earlier. However, lower costs positively impacted net operating income in comparable portfolios, resulting in a 4.3 per cent increase. "SBB is now allocating resources and focusing on its occupancy ratio and rental level to ensure that there is every opportunity for income to improve going forward," CEO Leiv Synnes said in a statement. On a separate statement, SBB said it had secured the right to acquire another 39.8 million shares in Public Property Invest through a deal with Aker Property Group. In return, it will issue 164.6 million new B shares to Aker, making it SBB's largest shareholder with a 33.5 per cent stake.
Reuters
19-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
SBB reports smaller Q4 loss, will continue to cut cost and sell assets
OSLO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Swedish real estate group SBB ( opens new tab reported on Wednesday a smaller pretax loss for the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier and said it would continue to cut costs and divest assets in order to boost its finances. The company was one of several European real estate groups forced to trim debt and restructure in the face of high interest rates in recent years, although conditions began to improve in 2024 as central banks eased monetary policies. SBB, which owns properties such as hospitals and care homes across Sweden, reported an October-December loss before tax of 613 billion Swedish crowns ($57.25 billion), compared with a loss of 3.37 billion in the final quarter of 2023. "By the end of 2025, the objective is to increase quality and normalise the central cost level, entailing a significant reduction in the cost level," SBB CEO Leiv Synnes said in a statement.
