History
From entrepreneurial roots to private investment house
Plena was founded 1980 by three parties: Lars Sjöborg, a private partner and a Swiss bank. Plena is derived from the Latin word “in plenum”. The first 10 years saw a rapid growth both in terms of assets and revenue of the group. With the acquisition of Yxhult, specializing in aerated concrete, and its daughter company, Ytong AG, began a larger and even more rapid international expansion. During the 1980’s Plena entered various sectors including printing and newspaper, wood processing, mining and quarrying, building materials, sportswear design and production, healthcare products distribution, and furniture. The majority of investments were made in Scandinavia.
By 1990, the Sjöborg family had taken over Plena Group. During the 1990’s, Plena diversified even further. Investments were made from the Far East to America with a large number of acquisitions in Eastern Europe. Expansion into new sectors included designer clothes, fund management, oil & gas and the cement industry in Central Europe. Plena took a particular interest in privatizations across Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Plena today
The new millennium started with a consolidation of existing investments, build-on investments and successful significant divestments. Plena disposed of its main activity in health care distribution to one of the largest private equity houses in the Nordic region. From 2007, Plena managed its Scandinavian portfolio from the Group’s original office in Orebro, Sweden. The international side of the group was to be advised from London, UK. Today, Plena Group manages all assets through Plena Holding S.A. in Luxembourg. Plena Capital Ltd., located in London, has become the Group’s main investment advisor.
Throughout 2008 Plena was extraordinarily careful with treasury management. There were very few operational investments in either financial papers or fixed assets. Whilst Plena remains cautious about the immediate future, it intends, to step up the investment rate again with carefully targeted capital programs.