From 1972 to 2007, i.e. for 35 years, Leif Lindblad managed the daily operation of LLENTAB as the owner of the company. The company grew considerably, and the small family business became the multinational LLENTAB Group, whose turnover at the time exceeded one billion Swedish crowns. The Lindblad family, however, still retained ownership control over the company. Five years later, in 2012, due to rapid growth and generational changes in the company’s management team, the family decided to sell a 50% stake to the Nordstjernan investment firm. Nordstjernan then became the sole owner of the entire LLENTAB Group in 2016. The new ownership structure brings LLENTAB new opportunities for development and the ability to focus on creating long-term growth potential.
Nordstjernan is a Scandinavian family-owned investment company that, through active ownership, develops profitability and in the long run increases the net asset value of the company. Nordstjernan currently has a stake in more than 20 Scandinavian companies, including those listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (e.g. NCC, Nobia, Bonava and others) as well as non-listed companies. Companies owned by Nordstjernan have sales of more than SEK 100 billion and employ around 60,000 workers. The roots of the company date back to the 19th century – in 1890, Axel Johnson (1844-1910) established the Nordstjernan shipbuilding company and thanks to rapid growth it became one of the largest shipbuilding companies in Sweden by the turn of the 20th century. His son, Axel Ax:son Johnson (1876-1958), carried on his father’s work. His first business steps were not easy, but his visionary thinking soon began to produce results. For example, Nordstjernan became a pioneer in the transition of transoceanic vessels from steam to diesel. New technologies have always been a major growth accelerator in the history of the company, and that remains true to this day.
As investor and owner, the current Nordstjernan investment company is a long-term shareholder – for example, NCC, one of the largest construction and real estate companies in Scandinavia, has been owned by Nordstjernan since 1928. Nordstjernan’s main objective is to provide the enterprises in which it has a stake a competent and professional board of directors to support executive management. In companies in which Nordstjernan is a major owner, at least one representative of the owner is on the board of directors, and the company always contributes to management with its experience, knowledge and skills (while respecting the work of management) as well as with capital for the main development projects and supplemental acquisitions. With its extensive business network, Nordstjernan can link its operations and ‘open doors’ to new markets. Nordstjernan generates growth in acquisitions by developing its companies, and the success of this strategy is confirmed by the current positive results of the LLENTAB Group.
