Ferd (company)

Ferd is a Norwegian holding company which holds partial ownership in companies within industry and finance as well as a real estate portfolio. The company has 75 employees and is owned by Johan H. Andresen and his two daughters Katharina and Alexandra; it was established in 2001. The group also has several venture and private equity holdings.

The company's name ferd is a Norwegian word meaning journey.

Business
The company operates in several business areas including:


 * Ferd Capital and Ferd Invest, an investor in private and public companies in Norway making investments from the company's balance sheets
 * Ferd External Managers, a fund of funds making investments in hedge funds, private equity funds and mutual funds
 * Ferd Real Estate, manages approximately 70,000 square meters of real estate

History
The company was founded in 2001, when Tiedemanns-Joh. H. Andresen DA and Hartog & Co AS were merged to form the current Ferd AS. The company's history dates back to 1849, when the Andresen family acquired J. L. Tiedemanns Tobaksfabrik, a tobacco factory. The original tobacco company was sold to Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni in 1998.

Ownership
Ferd's portfolio consists, among others, of the private holdings in:
 * Swix
 * Elopak
 * Mestergruppen
 * Interwell
 * Aibel
 * mnemonic
 * Servi Group
 * Fürst Medisinske Laboratorium
 * Infotjenester Group
 * Desenio AB
 * Fjordline