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本帖最后由 loby2000 于 2010-12-11 09:04 编辑
Orkla names new CEO, prepares to sell businesses
By Terje Solsvik and Joachim Dagenborg
OSLO (Reuters) - Bjoern Wiggen took the helm of Norwegian pizza-to-metals group Orkla on Wednesday, promising to reduce its exposure to solar energy and pare down the conglomerate to focus on its strongest businesses.
Wiggen, previously head of Orkla-owned aluminum firm Sapa, took over as president and chief executive from Dag J. Opedal, who resigned in July after leading the group since 2005.
"We will concentrate the group's activities on a smaller number of areas in the time to come, and we will seek to reduce our exposure to solar energy over time," Wiggen, 50, said in a statement.
Orkla is the main shareholder in Renewable Energy Corp (REC) but said in July that it may sell its 40 percent stake in the Norwegian solar energy firm.
Orkla also owns aluminum firm Elkem, which South Korean group POSCO is eyeing to help it grow in the fast-growing sector of renewable energy materials.
"We should aim to sell either Elkem or the REC stake within reasonable time -- I'd say within six months to two years," Orkla Chairman Stein Erik Hagen told Reuters in an interview.
Hagen also said that Orkla would focus on developing aluminum firm Sapa and its brands division, whose products include Pizza Grandiosa, washing powder and jam.
"No units are holy, but it's natural to develop what we're good at," Hagen said. "Orkla Brands is the cash cow and has developed strongly, while Sapa is recovering nicely. We will continue to focus on those."
Analysts said Orkla's restructuring could happen quickly.
"The process is already happening so things can happen fast ... I think it could take one to two years," said Per Haagensen, an analyst at Fondsfinans.
Shares in Orkla were down 1.4 percent to 52.4 crowns at 1101 GMT, lagging the Oslo benchmark index down 0.2 percent.
Shares in REC were up 0.8 percent at 18.14 crowns.
The current head of Sapa's operations in North America, Timothy Stubbs, will replace Wiggen as CEO of Sapa.
(Additional reporting by Camilla Knudsen; Writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Erica Billingham) |
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