Ben Hamilton
July 5th, 2017

Share

Probably worth paying a billion kroner for, right? (photo: RhinoMind)

The capital fund Nordic Capital has bought the Lagkagehuset bakery chain for an undisclosed sum, acquiring the stakes owned by FSN Capital (around 70 percent) and the co-founders Ole Kristoffersens and Steen Skallebæk (around 30 percent). The deal is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities. Lagkagehuset has 1,800 employees and 65 stores in Denmark, along with two in London, generating sales of 665 million kroner last year. Media speculate that Nordic paid around 1 billion kroner.

Treasury losing out to neighbours
As many as four out of 10 Danes expect to cross the border into Germany and Sweden this summer to buy soft drinks, confectionery and alcoholic drinks, according to a survey conducted by Norstat for Dansk Erhverv. Put off by the high taxes in Denmark, the purchases mean the Danish treasury will lose out on significant revenue.

Fatal explosion at Scanwear factory in Dhaka
Ten people died in at explosion at a Bangladesh-based factory that belongs to the Danish clothing manufacturer Scanwear on Monday. Many others were injured in the Dhaka tragedy. Scanwear chief executive Claus Dyrmose was grateful the eight-storey building was sturdy, as the explosion on the bottom two floors could have caused it to collapse.

How viable is Denmark’s oil and gas
Denmark’s oil and gas deposits have become a hot topic of late, with various media outlets and experts debating their future viability. While the government remains optimistic they will continue to be a cash cow, some experts suggest the extraction expense will weigh heavily on profits. An estimated 4 billion barrels of oil and gas have been taken thus far, with an estimated 3 billion still waiting. However, with most of them 2 km beneath the seabed, it will be no cakewalk extracting it, warned Bo Cerup-Simonsen from the DTU, speaking to DR.

Nets could be bought – reports
Several foreign equity funds are interested in buying Nets, the payment company has confirmed through a stock exchange announcement. Hellman & Friedman is among the funds interested in buying the Dankort operator, reports Bloomberg. Nets, which was listed on the stock exchange last year, has a market value of 26 billion kroner – a long way down on its flotation value.

Fewer Danes getting renovation tax breaks
Danes got considerably fewer tax deductions to have their homes refurbished in 2016 following the introduction of new regulations that restrict the offer to climate-friendly home improvements. The numbers fell from 577,925 to 383,065, according to the Ministry of Taxation, which also confirms that it is the high earners who get the breaks. Some 26.5 percent of the top bracket (over 700,000 kroner per year) take advantage, compared to 3.6 percent of the lowest bracket (under 200,000) and 8.6 percent of the bracket above (200-350,000).

Maersk Oil under the cosh over emissions
Maersk Oil has defended itself in the light of allegations that it has discharged 42 tonnes of a harmful strain of the chemical ‘scavtreat’ into the North Sea. The emission was allegedly classified by Maersk as being less harmful that it actually was, and the company stands accused of breaching the Marine Environment Act and could face a heavy fine. However, Maersk has said that overall it has a good environmental record. Scavtreat is used primarily to remove sulfides from oil and gas.

SKAT confirms shortfall of over 100 billion
The average Dane owes 17,900 in unpaid taxes. The soon to be disbanded tax agency SKAT has confirmed that the public owes 101.1 billion kroner in its Q2 figures. It is calculated that 80.5 billion of the public debt will never be paid.