Ratos
Ratos AB is a Swedish listed investment company founded in 1866 that operates as a long-term active owner of 13 medium-sized Nordic companies across industrial, service, and consumer sectors, generating returns through active ownership, dividends, and capital gains.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1866
- HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Ratos does
Ratos AB is a Swedish listed investment company founded in 1866 and headquartered in Stockholm, operating as a long-term active owner of medium-sized Nordic companies. The company holds both majority and minority stakes across 13 portfolio companies spanning industrial infrastructure, services, and consumer sectors, including Aibel (energy EPCI), Aleido (industrial services), Diab (composite materials), HL Display (retail solutions), Knightec Group (IT consulting), KVD (vehicle services), LEDiL (LED optics), OASE Outdoors (outdoor products), Plantasjen (plant retail), Presis Infra (infrastructure services), Sentia (IT services), Speed Group (staffing/automotive), and TFS HealthScience (clinical research).
Ratos does not develop proprietary technology products; instead, it generates returns through active ownership, operational improvements, and capital gains upon divestments. Each portfolio company operates autonomously under its own brand and management, with Ratos providing strategic direction, capital, and a shared sustainability strategy. The company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (ticker RTOBF) and reaches potential portfolio companies through direct outreach, investment banking relationships, and proprietary deal sourcing networks. Recent transactions include the SEK 2,844 million Semcon acquisition (2022), the Sentia IPO (2025), divestments of airteam and Expin Group, and HL Display's acquisition of Australia's Ufo Display Solutions. Ratos reports strong recent performance with 81% EPS growth in Q1 2026 and 57% adjusted EBITA growth in Q4 2025, alongside a 42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and 80% renewable electricity across the group, with SBTi-validated 1.5°C-aligned targets.
Ratos firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ratos
- Legal name
- Ratos AB
- Website
- https://ratos.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1866
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Ratos AB is a Swedish listed investment company founded in 1866 that operates as a long-term active owner of 13 medium-sized Nordic companies across industrial, service, and consumer sectors, generating returns through active ownership, dividends, and capital gains.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ratos industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Equity / Investment Holding
- NAICS
- Open-End Investment Funds (52591)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- UCITS / Liquid Alternatives Fund of Funds (FSAHAKAE)
Keywords
Where Ratos is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stockholm
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ratos business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Investment returns and capital gains: Ratos generates returns through appreciation of portfolio company values, driven by operational improvements, strategic initiatives, and market growth. Returns are realized through dividends from portfolio companies and capital gains upon divestments.
- Dividend income from portfolio companies: Portfolio companies generate revenues in their respective sectors (industrial services, retail solutions, construction, health science, outdoor products, etc.), contributing to Ratos's overall value creation through dividends and operational earnings.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Ratos product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ratos is a Swedish listed investment company that acquires, develops, and divests medium-sized Nordic companies through long-term active ownership. It holds both majority and minority stakes across 13 portfolio companies in industrial, service, and consumer sectors, generating returns through portfolio appreciation, dividends, and capital gains upon exit.
Product overview
Ratos is a Swedish listed investment company (investmentbolag) that owns and develops a portfolio of 13 Nordic companies through active long-term ownership. Ratos holds both majority and minority stakes across its portfolio. Rather than offering a single unified product, Ratos functions as an investment holding company whose value is derived from its portfolio of independent companies operating under their own brands. The portfolio companies span multiple industries including energy infrastructure services (Aibel), retail solutions (HL Display), industrial services (Aleido), plant retail (Plantasjen), LED lighting components (LEDiL), outdoor recreation products (OASE Outdoors), health science services (TFS HealthScience), construction and infrastructure services (Presis Infra), automotive services (Speed), valuation services (KVD), engineering consulting (Knightec Group), and advanced materials (Diab). Each portfolio company operates autonomously with its own brand, management, and board.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Aibel
Quantifiable outcome
- 81% EPS increase in Q1 2026
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Ratos
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Ratos technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Ratos partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Semcon ABcoreRatos acquired Semcon AB in 2022 at SEK 157 per share, totaling approximately SEK 2,844 million. The acquisition received competition clearance from Swedish and Norwegian authorities. Semcon operates in industrial services across multiple countries.
- Ufo Display SolutionscoreRatos core holding company HL Display acquired Australian company Ufo Display Solutions, generating 100 million SEK in revenue. This represents HL Display's cross-border expansion into the Australian market.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Ratos competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Investor AB: Swedish listed investment company with a long-term, active ownership model across Nordic and global holdings, structurally the closest peer to Ratos in governance, capital structure, and value creation approach.
- Kinnevik AB: Swedish listed investment company focused on long-term ownership of consumer and digital businesses, sharing Ratos's active ownership philosophy and Nordic capital markets base.
- Industrivärden: Swedish listed investment company with concentrated holdings in large Nordic industrial companies, comparable to Ratos in its long-term active ownership stance on the Nasdaq Stockholm.
- EQT AB: Swedish-founded global private equity firm listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, comparable as a publicly listed PE sponsor with Nordic roots and active ownership of medium-sized businesses.
- Lundbergs: Swedish family-controlled listed investment company with diversified Nordic holdings, comparable to Ratos in long-duration capital and active ownership of Swedish industrial and consumer businesses.
- 3i Group: UK-listed private equity and venture capital investor, comparable as a publicly listed PE platform applying active ownership to mid-market companies, though with a broader European footprint.
Broad incumbents
- Lazard: Global financial advisory and asset management firm, comparable to Ratos at the broad asset management / investment company level though operating a substantially different business mix.
- KKR & Co. Global publicly listed alternative asset manager with a private equity franchise focused on mid- and large-cap buyouts, comparable to Ratos as a listed PE platform, though at significantly larger scale and global scope.
- Blackstone: World's largest publicly listed alternative asset manager, comparable to Ratos as a listed PE/alternatives platform, though operating across a much broader set of strategies and geographies.
- Carlyle Group: Global publicly listed private equity firm with diversified alternative asset management, comparable to Ratos as a listed PE sponsor applying active ownership across multiple sectors.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Ratos social profiles
Digital presenceRatos compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Ratos financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ratos leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Ratos subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries13 records
Ratos funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ratos M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A22 records
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ratos
What does Ratos do?
Ratos is a Swedish listed investment company that acquires, develops, and divests medium-sized Nordic companies through long-term active ownership. It holds both majority and minority stakes across 13 portfolio companies in industrial, service, and consumer sectors, generating returns through portfolio appreciation, dividends, and capital gains upon exit.
Is Ratos a public or private company?
Ratos is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Ratos founded?
Ratos was founded in 1866. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Ratos based?
Ratos is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Ratos make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Investment returns and capital gains are the primary driver. The others are dividend income from portfolio companies.
Who are Ratos's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Investor AB, Kinnevik AB, Industrivärden, EQT AB, Lundbergs and 3i Group. Broad incumbents are Lazard, KKR & Co., Blackstone and Carlyle Group.
Does Ratos have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ratos.
What industry is Ratos in?
Ratos's product category is Private Equity / Investment Holding. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAHAKAE, UCITS / Liquid Alternatives Fund of Funds. Its NAICS code is 52591 and its SIC code is 6199.