Owner-foundations

In the 1980s, VBG Group's founder Herman Krefting formed three foundations to which he transferred a large proportion of shares in order to ensure the continued development of VBG Group and to provide job-security for employees. The foundations became the principal owners of VBG Group.

The stable ownership structure enables us to manage the group and the divisions from a long-term perspective. We are an industrial owner with the ambition to build strong, successful companies with long-term profitability.

Over the years, the ownership structure has also contributed to us having a high degree of financial stability. This, in turn, has resulted in investments in our divisions as well as in a good total return for the shareholders.

The largest – both in terms of shareholding and voting share – is Herman Krefting's Foundation for Allergy and Asthma Research. The other two, Foundation SLK-Employee and Foundation VBG-SLK, have a lower shareholding but significant voting rights thanks to the fact that all A shares are owned by the foundations.

The SLK employee foundation covers all employees in the group. The foundation owns a large number of shares in VBG Group and the surplus of the management shall go to initiatives for development and increasing the well-being of employees within VBG Group globally, both at work and privately. In 2014, the foundation's board decided to establish Herman Krefting Education Scholarship, which can be applied for by all employees in the group.