What is Dunkerintressena?
Dunkerintressena is a group of foundations and companies created by the industrialist Henry Dunker. Following the death of Henry Dunker, the foundations are the principal owners of Trelleborg AB – and earnings from the foundations are paid to the City of Helsingborg, Dunkerska Sjukhemmet (nursing home) and Henry and Gerda Dunker’s heirs.
Dunkerintressena consists mainly of two foundations; Henry och Gerda Dunkers Donationsfond Nr 2 (the “Donation Fund”) and Henry och Gerda Dunkers Stiftelse (the “Foundation”). In addition, the two foundations control three limited companies; Henry Dunkers Förvaltnings AB, Förvaltningsaktiebolaget H.D and Aktiebolaget Hevea.
Who was Henry Dunker?
Henry Dunker created the modern Swedish rubber industry through a consolidation journey from rubber galoshes to today’s Trelleborg AB. At the age of 24, he became the CEO of Helsingborgs Gummifabrik and later owner of Trelleborgs Gummifabrik. Henry Dunker was born in Denmark in 1870 and was CEO until his death in 1962. The Dunkers had no children and most of their assets were donated to Dunkerintressena.
Who owns Dunkerintressena?
A foundation has no owners or members but is managed by an appointed board.
What is the role of Dunkerintressena?
According to instructions from Henry Dunker, its main task is to develop, nurture and protect Trelleborg AB, which is the most important asset of Dunkerintressena.
What is Dunkerintressena’s ownership in Trelleborg AB?
Dunkerintressena has a voting majority. Trelleborg has two classes of shares; Series A shares with ten votes each and Series B shares with one vote. All Series A shares – 28,500,000 – are owned by Dunkerintressena. On December 31, 2023, Dunkerintressena also owned 400,000 Series B shares. In total, this corresponded to 11.3 percent of share capital and 55.8 percent of votes. The market value of Dunkerintressena’ holdings amounted to SEK 9,757,000,000 on December 31, 2023.
How is Dunkerintressena governed?
Dunkerintressena is managed by a Board of Directors consisting of six members. The first members of the foundations were appointed in Henry Dunker’s will. When someone leaves the Board, the remaining members elect a new member. Ragnar Lindqvist is Chairman. The other members are John Abrahamson, Anders Dahlvig, Gunilla Fransson, Bengt Kjell and Henrik Lange. Gunilla Fransson and Henrik Lange are also members of the Trelleborg AB Board. Göran Pelvén is responsible for the management of both foundations and is also CEO of Dunkerintressena’s companies.
How does Dunkerintressena exercise its ownership in Trelleborg AB?
Dunkerintressena has two members on the Trelleborg AB board. They are, in turn, members of the Board’s Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee and Finance Committee. However, all members of a company’s Board of Directors are tasked with looking after the interests of all shareholders.
Dunkerintressena’s representative on Trelleborg AB’s Nomination Committee is normally also the Chairman of the Committee.
Can Dunkerintressena sell its shares in Trelleborg?
As indicated above, the main task of the Board of Dunkerintressena is to develop, nurture and protect Trelleborg AB. Henry Dunker had the foresight to write in his deed of gift that in the event of an “urgent necessity” the original assets, which includes the shares of Trelleborg AB, may be “divested or otherwise converted into other values.” However, this is conditional upon a unanimous Board and approval from the City of Helsingborg.
The provision obviously leaves some room for interpretation, and Dunkerintressena’s Board must, if necessary, interpret and apply the provision on a case-by-case basis, taking into account that Henry Dunker wrote his deed of gift in 1953.
Does Dunkerintressena have other ownership interests?
In addition to ownership in Trelleborg, Dunkerintressena has a securities portfolio valued in excess of SEK 1 billion but has no dominant ownership in any other company.
Supervision of Dunkerintressena?
Both foundations are supervised by the County Administrative Board of Skåne, which is the supervisory authority. The activities of the foundations are currently audited by the auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers AB and the city auditor of Helsingborg. The auditors of both foundations are appointed by the City of Helsingborg.
What is Henry och Gerda Dunkers Donationsfond Nr 1?
It is a foundation that is independently managed by the City of Helsingborg and the basis for its activities is, similar to Dunkerintressena, Henry Dunker’s will.
What dividends have Dunkerintressena received from Trelleborg in recent years?
Dividends paid by Trelleborg AB to Dunkerintressena, MSEK
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 173,4 | 159,0 | 144,5 | 0 | 137,3 |
How are the returns from Dunkerintressena used?
Part of the annual net yield of the Donation Fund is added to capital, and the remainder is then disposed of by the City of Helsingborg to be used, as stated in the will, for “an independent purpose beneficial to the citizens of Helsingborg.” Dunkerintressena cannot influence how the City uses the proceeds, provided that the City of Helsingborg fulfills the purpose of the will. The role of Dunkerintressena is therefore to manage the capital in the best possible way in accordance with Henry Dunker’s will and to ensure that the City of Helsingborg can use it for purposes that fall within the scope of the will. The returns are to be disposed of as described above and are independent of the assets held by Dunkerintressena.
Part of the returns from the Donation Fund are also paid to Henry and Gerda Dunker’s siblings, nieces and nephews and their children (the “Beneficiaries”), though no more than three generations, after which this part of the returns is also paid to the City of Helsingborg.
Part of the annual net yield of the Foundation is added to capital, and the remainder of the returns is used in its entirety for the operation of the Dunkerska Sukhemmet, housed in Henry Dunker’s former private residence in Helsingborg, Villa Hevea.
Payments from Dunkerintressena, MSEK
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helsingborgs stad | 85,2 | 81,2 | 72,8 | 16,1 | 65,4 |
| Avkomsttagarna | 47,5 | 50,4 | 49,7 | 11,5 | 46,7 |
| Dunkerska sjukhemmet | 23,1 | 22,8 | 16,0 | 0 | 15,3 |
| Totalt | 155,8 | 154,4 | 138,5 | 27,6 | 127,4 |
What has the City of Helsingborg used the money for?
Over the years, the funds have been used to build Helsingborg City Theater, Kulturmagasinet at Fredriksdal, stands at the Olympia football stadium, Dunkers Kulturhus and Helsingborg Arena.
Are grants available from Dunkerintressena that the public (associations, companies, individuals) can apply for?
No, in accordance with the will, the City of Helsingborg decides how to use the returns from the Donation Fund, and the returns from the Foundation are to be used for the operation of Dunkerska Sjukhemmet.
