Press release 05/11/2020

Through an agreement with the principal owners and founders Per Nauclér and Mikael Fröling, as well as co-owners Örjan Serner (CEO) and Johan Gladh (Head of Plint Studios), Priveq becomes the majority shareholder owning 55 per cent of Plint. The remaining 45 per cent is retained by Per Nauclér, Örjan Serner and Johan Gladh with Mikael Fröling gradually handing over his duties in the company, which has been planned for some time.

“Our vision is to go arm in arm with founders and entrepreneurs, adding expertise and experience in ownership and board issues in growing companies. More often it is about helping with investments for continued growth and international expansion,” says Louise Nilsson, CEO of Priveq.

Plint’s CEO, Örjan Serner, says that when the search for a new ownership partner started last year, there were around 30 or so interested parties. “We felt early on that the values and personal chemistry worked well between us and the team from Priveq and so we decided to go all-in,” he says. Plint’s CEO, Örjan Serner, says that when the search for a new ownership partner started last year, there were around 30 or so interested parties. “We felt early on that the values and personal chemistry worked well between us and the team from Priveq and so we decided to go all-in,” he says.

Priveq Investment has been around for more than 35 years, originally under the name Skandia Investment, but since 1998 as an independent player focusing on small and medium-sized unlisted companies with growth potential. Investors in Priveq’s funds are mainly large pension funds in Europe such as Skandia Liv, the Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund, the Municipal Land Pension Fund (KLP) and the European Investment Fund (EIF).

Plint has its operations in Gothenburg, Borås and since last year Los Angeles, at the very heart of the TV and film market. In 2018, Plint was the single, fastest growing language and media technology company in the world. In just five years, sales have exploded from 11m to 236m – a growth of over 2,000%.

Moreover, major customer Netflix recently reported a whopping 16 million new subscribers in the first quarter. “Netflix puts a lot of work our way and, for the first quarter, Plint’s net sales increased to 77 million compared to 45 million for the same period in 2019,” says Örjan Serner.

“With the production of new films and TV series temporarily put on the back burner because of the Corona crisis, we have still had a strong influx of orders as well as several promising requests from other media companies and international organizations,” says Örjan Serner.

Apart from Netflix, customers also include Amazon, Viacom, Volvo, IKEA and H&M. One aspect that has aroused particular interest is that Plint has developed a unique, cloud-based computer system – Plint Core – which coordinates translations and workflows. Plint Core facilitates such workflows for clients, project managers and translators alike and streamlines the complex processes that invariably precede the launch of films and television series internationally and in different languages.

Since its inception, Priveq has invested in 128 companies, of which 27 have been listed. Managed capital over time amounts to 6 billion SEK through five separate funds. The current portfolio consists of 18 companies with sales of around 5 billion SEK and 2,000 employees. Examples of portfolio companies include 21 Grams, ILT, Parfym.se, Ports Group, Metenova and Qlean Air Scandinavia.

“Right now, when the market has been so heavily affected by the Corona crisis, it is even more exciting to do business of this kind,” says Louise Nilsson. “Plint has a unique position in a rapidly growing part of the media industry. With great customers, good technology and visionary leadership a great plus – they also take great care of their staff and their 1,000+ translators around the world” adds Louise.

Helena Skåntorp has been appointed as Plint’s new Chairwoman of the Board. She currently sits on a number of boards and was previously the CEO of recruitment agency Lernia between 2011 and 2017.