Saxo Bank eyes Copenhagen listing after failed SPAC merger – CEO

After plans to merge with a blank cheque company last month, CEO Kim Fournais said that Saxo Bank could offer its investors a fresh chance to cash in.

Fournais stated that there has been a desire to eventually list Saxo. He also said that the bank is not in a hurry to float, as long as market turmoil continues. He said that Nasdaq Copenhagen would be the most suitable venue for a float.

According to a source familiar, Saxo Bank was valued at €2 billion in September. This could allow Geely , a Chinese automaker, and Sampo, a Finnish insurer, to reduce their stakes.

Fournais said that while the broker in Denmark will keep all options open, its default plan is for it to go public.

The executive stated that no decision has been made and that the timing of a liquidity event could be pushed into next year or even beyond 2024.

He said that financial advisers have yet to be hired as the management's immediate focus is on running and growing the business.

It all depends on the external conditions. Fournais stated that they hoped to look better in the coming year, or even the next... but it could happen sooner." "We learned a lot during the SPAC process, which also means that we are in a position to react quickly."

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Saxo Bank, which provides digital trading solutions, announced last September that it was in discussions to be bought by Disruptive Capital AC (DCACS.AS). is a special purpose acquisition (SPAC) company (SPAC) headed by Edmund Truell from the UK, with a value of at least 2 million euros.

According to a statement made at the time, negotiations were cancelled in December due to "challenging markets conditions".

Truell's SPAC merger would have seen Sampo and Geely reduce their shareholdings in Saxo Bank. Fournais, co-founder of the business in the 1990s, would have purchased additional shares as per the preliminary agreement.

Geely and Sampo purchased 52% and 20%, respectively, of Saxo Bank in 2018 from existing investors. Private equity house TPG Capital also invested. The company was valued at over 1.3 billion euros.

A spokesperson for the company stated that Geely continues to support Saxo Bank's strategy and management.

Geely listed some of its portfolio businesses, including Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars. It retains an 82% share.

Sampo Bank is not considered a core investment by the spokesperson. However, it plans to reduce its stake but not in a hurry to do so.

Sampo has been reducing its exposure to non-life insurance to help refocus the business. Last year, Sampo exited Nordea, a Scandinavian lender.

Saxo Bank reported a 12% drop in first-half 2022 income, to 2.15bn Danish kroner. There was also a 41% decrease in net profit, to 302 million kroner. This was due to lower trading activity and the acquisition of BinckBank in 2019. It managed assets worth 591bn billion.

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