Finland’s Sampo closes deal for Danish insurer Topdanmark

Finland’s Sampo Oyj has succeeded in promoting a bid for Topdanmark A/S in its second attempt to gain control of the Danish insurer.

The Finnish insurance company increased its stake in Topdanmark to about 92.6 percent of the shares, based on a preliminary result, and will complete the offer, according to a statement on Tuesday. The plan is to buy out the remaining minority shareholders and spin off Topdanmark in due course, the Helsinki-based company said.

Sampo made a move to take full ownership of the Danish insurer in June in an effort to integrate it into its property and casualty unit if it operates in the Nordic region. Before its recommended share offer, which valued Topdanmark at 33 billion kroner ($4.9 billion), Sampo already owned almost half of the company’s shares and votes.

Finland’s Sampo makes a $4.7 billion bid for Topdanmark

The takeover follows a strategic shift for Sampo, which has transformed into a pure-play insurance company following the divestment of a stake in Nordea Bank Abp in 2022 and a spinoff of asset manager and life insurer Mandatum Oyj last year.

Sampo first signaled a stake in Topdanmark shares in 2008 and offered to buy it in 2016, but less than 10% of shareholders accepted the offer then. This time, Sampo set an acceptance threshold of 90% as a condition for the deal, which was unanimously supported by Topdanmark’s board of directors.

The withdrawal of minority shareholders is likely to eat up much of the 400 million euros ($440 million) set aside for that and buybacks as part of a total of 800 million euros announced in June. The buyback is intended “to offset the dilution of the number of shares in the transaction,” Sampo said at the time.

Photo: A sign is displayed in front of the headquarters of Sampo Oyj in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, November 2, 2017. Photo credit: Roni Rekomaa/Bloomberg

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