Hufvudstaden

"I had learned from Kenne Fant, a friend and CEO at SF, that Hufvudstaden wanted to divest SF but also that the question of price was owned by Gunnar. We concluded the deal subject to the DN group's approval of the rather significant price of 55 million SEK. "Even if it had cost 100 million SEK, I would have gone for it," Abbe quickly said to me as we left. Gunnar Schmidt knew how to charge, but the agreement he wrote in pencil on less than an A4 page was turned into a thick bundle by a clever gentleman at Lagerlöf's law firm. During the review, I occasionally asked Gunnar if the text interpreted his view of the matter. Gunnar then immediately told the lawyer to change the formulations. There was never the slightest miscommunication with him."

"I had come to the conclusion that real estate could be a good alternative for building a longer-term stronger balance sheet for the DN group. They provided a secure return and there were attractive financing opportunities in the prevailing high inflation environment. The board shared this view and during 1979, which became my last year as CEO of the DN group, we came to make a major investment in the development of Marievik, a real estate area south of Söder in Stockholm, together with Hufvudstaden. The project became more expensive than estimated and the leasing was sluggish for many years, but it eventually turned out to be a good deal when the complex was sold in the 1980s."