Ratos

The Söderberg brothers established Ratos in the 1933, as a holding company for the family's growing enterprises. At the time the family was owners of Söderberg & Haak. Ratos developed with extensive ownership in companies such as Stora Kopparberg, Gränges and Esselte in addition to a wholly owned steel division. It was listed on the stock exchange in 1954.

In 1979 the steel division, that at the time was called Tibnor, was sold to the state owned SSAB as part of the re-organization of the crisis hit steel industry. After that the company expanded into new areas, including a larger number of transport companies, the hotel chain Scandic Hotels and the plumbing chain Dahl International. During this period Sven Söderberg (1928-2004) was President and CEO.[2]

The financial crisis hit Ratos with reduced profits in 1992 and Urban Jansson was appointed new CEO and the subsidiaries were either floated on the stock exchange or sold. After Arne Karlsson took over as CEO, Ratos was transformed to a private equity company.

Magnus Agervald was appointed as CEO of Ratos in July 2016, replacing acting CEO Lars Johansson.[3]

In 2019, Ratos sold the Adelswärdska house, the building on Drottninggatan in Stockholm where the head office is located. Buyers were the State Property Agency. The reason for the sale was the increasingly increased safety requirements in the environment, as the building lies between the Sagerska palace (the Prime Minister's Housing) and Rosenbad (Government Offices) and the area was increasingly blocked off. The property was purchased by Söderberg & Haak in 1938 and later became rated. Ratos may dispose of the building until 2021.[4]

• Corporate web site