History
Catella was established by Gunnar Rylander in 1987 for the purpose of investing in and developing knowledge companies. Gunnar has a lengthy history as an entrepreneur and manager of knowledge companies in Sweden and internationally, including having been head of the worldwide PA Consulting Group and one of the founders of the IT company, IBS.
Financial Advisory Services
During its first three years of operations, Catella made a number of fundamental investments in technology and property consulting, of which the Generics Group and Catella Property Consultants (formerly VM Fastighetsekonomer) were to develop to become leading players in Europe. Under the current name, Catella Property Group, the property advisory business has established a presence as one of the most frequently used transaction advisers in the European market, with subsidiaries in 15 countries.
Asset Management
1995 marked the acquisition of the asset management company Mariegården Kapitalförvaltning, which became the core of Catella's asset management companies. Two years later, Catella Fondförvaltning was established in cooperation with the Finn and Gripen Swedish savings banks. These operations are currently part of Catella Capital, one of Sweden's leading independent asset managers. Catella also holds 100 per cent of the shares in Catella Sponsor, which offers asset management and administrative management for foundations and non-profit associations, as well as general advisory services for foundations.
Proprietary Investments
During the period 1997-1998, Catella moved into the IT industry through, for example, the acquisition of shares in IBS, a business systems company listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. In December 2007 Catella Investments sold is holdings in IBS AB (publ.). Over the years, Catella increased its investment in the Cambridge-based company Generics - now known as Sagentia - and ultimately held 80 per cent of the shares. In 2000, Generics was listed on the London Stock Exchange, in connection with which Catella's shareholding was reduced to 49.5 per cent. Catella's current holding amounts to 48.8 per cent. 2001 marked the establishment of the management company, Catella Private Equity, which manages the venture capital fund Strukturfonden, focusing on turn-around management.
All these investments are supervised by Catella Investments, whose investment operations are conducted in close co-operation with other companies in Catella.
Over the years, Catella has steadily worked towards becoming a finance group focusing on Asset Management, Financial Advisory Services and Proprietary Investments. A major step was taken with the establishment of Catella Healthcare, in autumn 2004. During summer 2005 a decision was made to broaden the well-established corporate finance operations to include media and retail/consumer goods in the independent companies Catella Media and Catella Consumer, respectively. Since spring 2007 Catella Technology is included in corporate finance operations, with the focus on M&A and public transactions.