The Novo companies
Controlling ownership
Novo A/S is obligated to maintain a controlling interest in Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, the Novo Group’s two large publicly listed companies. The A (multiple voting rights) shares in the two companies are unlisted and are not traded. In both Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, the A shares have voting rights that are 10 times greater than those of the B (ordinary) shares. At the end of 2012, Novo A/S owned A and B shares in Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S equivalent to 25.5% of the share capital of both companies and 72.7% and 70.1% of the votes respectively. This special ownership structure defends the companies in practice against any hostile takeover and ensures that the companies can plan their activities on a long-term basis and remain in Danish ownership. The role of Novo A/S is to manage its controlling ownership in the
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best interests of the companies and with due respect for the interests of the minority shareholders. Henrik Gürtler, CEO of Novo A/S, explains: “It is worth noting that Novo A/S, despite having a controlling interest in both Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, invites influence by minority shareholders. This is reflected in us being a minority on the boards of both companies, and naturally the board as a whole makes the decisions. This is a very intentional choice.” Most of the assets of Novo A/S comprise its portfolio of shares in NovoNordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S. Novo A/S derives income from its ownership of Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, from the annual dividends and from participating in the companies’ share buybacks.
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