Industribygg

"During some quick chess moves, Røkke, Gjelsten, and Storetvedt moved properties between their companies and hyped up the values. Once again, Kjell Inge Røkke was on all sides of the table when the deals were made. It started with ANS Gresvig Bygg, the headquarters of the sports wholesaler in Askim. The building was sold to Gjelsten & Røkke Eiendom and leased back again. Now, you might not think that had a significant effect, but then you do not work at the Oslo Stock Exchange. With this maneuver, Røkke managed to reduce the debt in Gresvig – while simultaneously increasing the income in his real estate company. And just like that, both rose in value, even though Røkke was really just dealing with himself. This is how a kingdom was united under Jan Petter Storetvedt. When one of Røkke's companies had a large office or a factory building, it was sold – and leased back. Thus, everything was transferred to the newly started company Industribygg. Gradually, this company had purchased industrial buildings for close to 275 million kroner from the other Røkke companies, including four factory buildings belonging to the major fish exporter Skaarfish, which Røkke bought for a song when the company was down and out. Thus, the companies were stripped of properties. But not to slaughter them and parcel them out into delicacies according to Bjørn Rune Gjelsten: "The reason why we established Industribygg was that too much management time was spent on the property holdings and not on operations. Managers should focus on operations, and the real estate company should take care of the properties." Moreover, it was Røkke and Gjelsten who held the magic formula that could transform the dusty industrial buildings into ringing coin in the cash register. The first move was a stock market listing, or rather; finding a backdoor onto the Oslo Stock Exchange. The solution was the real estate company Avantor, the Andenæs family's old company which had developed, among other things, Oslo Havnelager, but which was leading a dormant existence, marked by the family's financial troubles. It was another friendly raid."

"The next step was to sell off the large collection of factory buildings located in the company Industribygg. Again, a brokerage firm was called in, and again they returned with rosy valuations. Sundal Collier & Co believed the collection of industrial buildings could be worth just over half a billion kroner. It was just a matter of finding a buyer. Finance newspaper smelled the rat and asked Kjell Inge Røkke outright if Avantor was a potential buyer. "I haven't asked Jan Petter Storetvedt about it, but I'm not sure Industribygg is the right property mass for them," he replied. However, two months later, Røkke was sure of just the opposite – the property mass was indeed perfectly suited for Avantor. It was a strange board meeting, where Røkke – despite being both buyer and seller – did not leave the room. On the contrary, he chose to sit on both sides of the table when Avantor decided to pay 390 million kroner for his company. "It was never a topic that Røkke should not participate in the meeting. In my board, everyone says what they want anyway," Storetvedt explained afterwards. When directly asked if he ever considered staying away from the board meeting, Røkke replied: "That's a silly question. I saw it as my task to consider the administration's recommendation.""