Private equity firms who hold 32% of LINK Mobility Group Holding ASA (OB:LINK) gained 13%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• Significant control over LINK Mobility Group Holding by private equity firms implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 30% of LINK Mobility Group Holding is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of LINK Mobility Group Holding ASA (OB:LINK), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private equity firms with 32% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Private equity firms gained the most after market cap touched kr5.8b last week, while institutions who own 30% also benefitted.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about LINK Mobility Group Holding.

See our latest analysis for LINK Mobility Group Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About LINK Mobility Group Holding?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

LINK Mobility Group Holding already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at LINK Mobility Group Holding's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in LINK Mobility Group Holding. Our data shows that ABRY Partners, LLC is the largest shareholder with 32% of shares outstanding. State Street Global Advisors, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.7% of common stock, and DNB Asset Management AS holds about 6.0% of the company stock.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of LINK Mobility Group Holding

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that LINK Mobility Group Holding ASA insiders own under 1% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It seems the board members have no more than kr11m worth of shares in the kr5.8b company. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over LINK Mobility Group Holding. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 32%, private equity firms could influence the LINK Mobility Group Holding board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 10.0%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand LINK Mobility Group Holding better, we need to consider many other factors.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.