My TLDR:
The Danish company Halberg Group, which used to own Mac Baren Tobacco, lost about $33 million after selling the tobacco company to Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) in 2024.
They sold Mac Baren for around $69 million, but Halberg had valued it much higher.
Because of that, they had to record a paper loss of about $20 million in their books.
Now to the article......
Translated from this Danish article (and DKK set to USD)
Svendborg – The sale of the well-known tobacco factory Mac Baren has proven expensive for its former owner, Halberg in Svendborg.
The group’s new financial statements show that it has lost 238 million DKK (≈ 33 million USD) before tax over the past two years.
Production of pipe tobacco and nicotine pouches still continues at the Mac Baren factory in Svendborg, but by June next year, the owner will move production elsewhere.
The figure has only now become public due to a major accounting error.
The 200-employee company changed hands on 1 July 2024, and since then the new owner, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, has announced that it will close operations in Svendborg by June 2026 and move production to Assens and Holstebro.
When the sale was announced, the parties stated that Halberg would receive 535 million DKK (≈ 75 million USD) for the tobacco shares.
According to the new report, a later settlement reduced the price by 36 million DKK (≈ 5 million USD).
The final price has not been stated verbatim, but figures in Halberg A/S’s latest financial report strongly indicate that the group received 491 million DKK (≈ 69 million USD) in cash.
That’s a lot of money—but not as much as Halberg had previously valued Mac Baren at. In earlier financial statements, the shares had been recorded at a much higher value, so the difference between the book value and the actual price became a write-down, i.e., a loss on paper.
In total, Halberg had to write down 141 million DKK (≈ 20 million USD), which has made the historic group less wealthy than before the sale.
On the other hand, it now has a solid stack of cash instead of shares in Mac Baren.
Halberg Group’s CEO Jesper Uggerhøj explained that the write-down and loss had nothing to do with Mac Baren’s performance:
In total, Mac Baren accounted for a loss of 166 million DKK (≈ 23 million USD) before tax across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years for the Halberg Group.
In addition to the loss from the sale, Halberg also faced unusually high expenses in other areas.
Its remaining operations — everything except Mac Baren — showed a loss of 111 million DKK (≈ 15 million USD) before tax in 2023/24.
The report gives no explanation for where that loss came from, and no external sources have been able to clarify it either.
Altogether, the two financial years have cost the owners a total loss of 238 million DKK (≈ 33 million USD) before tax.
Halberg Group remains very wealthy, so these losses have not threatened its survival.
In 2023, the company’s equity was 1.468 billion DKK (≈ 205 million USD), now reduced to 1.196 billion DKK (≈ 168 million USD) — 272 million DKK (≈ 38 million USD) less.
Although the sale agreement was made in June 2024, the financial consequences only became clear now.
The group’s 2023/24 report was completed after the sale, but the write-downs were not included.
In the new report, management admits that this was a significant error, and has therefore corrected numerous figures for 2023/24 in the updated report.
This correction increased the 2023/24 loss from 103 million DKK (≈ 14 million USD) to 225 million DKK (≈ 32 million USD) after tax.
Such a large accounting error is extremely rare in Denmark, especially for a company as large and reputable as Halberg.
Since 1997, Halberg’s accounts had been reviewed by Revisionsfirmaet Edelbo, also based in Svendborg.
After the mistake, nearly all companies in the group switched to competitor EY as auditor.
According to CEO Jesper Uggerhøj, the auditor change was not because of the accounting correction:
Edelbo’s director Morten Pedersen declined to comment, citing client confidentiality.
The new auditor EY has also billed the company for “other services” amounting to 22 million DKK (≈ 3 million USD) during 2024/25.
Halberg Group Today
What remains in the Halberg Group includes:
In addition, over 400 million DKK (≈ 56 million USD) is invested in securities, and 122 million DKK (≈ 17 million USD) was held in cash at the end of the last financial year (April 30).
The company is satisfied with the performance of these divisions, which together produced a profit of 39 million DKK (≈ 5.5 million USD) before tax in 2024/25.
For the current year, Halberg expects revenue between 850 and 950 million DKK (≈ 119–133 million USD) and a profit of 35–50 million DKK (≈ 4.9–7 million USD) before tax.
The Halberg family’s fourth and fifth generations — Ole Einar Halberg, Lee-Emilie Grøsfjeld Halberg, and Ann-Julie Grøsfjeld Halberg — together own 56 % of the shares and 25 % of the voting rights, while the Halberg Foundation owns the rest.
The Danish company Halberg Group, which used to own Mac Baren Tobacco, lost about $33 million after selling the tobacco company to Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) in 2024.
They sold Mac Baren for around $69 million, but Halberg had valued it much higher.
Because of that, they had to record a paper loss of about $20 million in their books.
Now to the article......
Translated from this Danish article (and DKK set to USD)
Hundreds of Millions Lost in Svendborg: The Sale of Mac Baren Proved Costly
Svendborg – The sale of the well-known tobacco factory Mac Baren has proven expensive for its former owner, Halberg in Svendborg.
The group’s new financial statements show that it has lost 238 million DKK (≈ 33 million USD) before tax over the past two years.
Production of pipe tobacco and nicotine pouches still continues at the Mac Baren factory in Svendborg, but by June next year, the owner will move production elsewhere.
The figure has only now become public due to a major accounting error.
The 200-employee company changed hands on 1 July 2024, and since then the new owner, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, has announced that it will close operations in Svendborg by June 2026 and move production to Assens and Holstebro.
When the sale was announced, the parties stated that Halberg would receive 535 million DKK (≈ 75 million USD) for the tobacco shares.
According to the new report, a later settlement reduced the price by 36 million DKK (≈ 5 million USD).
The final price has not been stated verbatim, but figures in Halberg A/S’s latest financial report strongly indicate that the group received 491 million DKK (≈ 69 million USD) in cash.
That’s a lot of money—but not as much as Halberg had previously valued Mac Baren at. In earlier financial statements, the shares had been recorded at a much higher value, so the difference between the book value and the actual price became a write-down, i.e., a loss on paper.
Less Wealthy Than Before
In total, Halberg had to write down 141 million DKK (≈ 20 million USD), which has made the historic group less wealthy than before the sale.
On the other hand, it now has a solid stack of cash instead of shares in Mac Baren.
Halberg Group’s CEO Jesper Uggerhøj explained that the write-down and loss had nothing to do with Mac Baren’s performance:
In total, Mac Baren accounted for a loss of 166 million DKK (≈ 23 million USD) before tax across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years for the Halberg Group.
Losses Elsewhere, Too
In addition to the loss from the sale, Halberg also faced unusually high expenses in other areas.
Its remaining operations — everything except Mac Baren — showed a loss of 111 million DKK (≈ 15 million USD) before tax in 2023/24.
The report gives no explanation for where that loss came from, and no external sources have been able to clarify it either.
Altogether, the two financial years have cost the owners a total loss of 238 million DKK (≈ 33 million USD) before tax.
Halberg Group remains very wealthy, so these losses have not threatened its survival.
In 2023, the company’s equity was 1.468 billion DKK (≈ 205 million USD), now reduced to 1.196 billion DKK (≈ 168 million USD) — 272 million DKK (≈ 38 million USD) less.
Accounting Error and Auditor Change
Although the sale agreement was made in June 2024, the financial consequences only became clear now.
The group’s 2023/24 report was completed after the sale, but the write-downs were not included.
In the new report, management admits that this was a significant error, and has therefore corrected numerous figures for 2023/24 in the updated report.
This correction increased the 2023/24 loss from 103 million DKK (≈ 14 million USD) to 225 million DKK (≈ 32 million USD) after tax.
Such a large accounting error is extremely rare in Denmark, especially for a company as large and reputable as Halberg.
Since 1997, Halberg’s accounts had been reviewed by Revisionsfirmaet Edelbo, also based in Svendborg.
After the mistake, nearly all companies in the group switched to competitor EY as auditor.
According to CEO Jesper Uggerhøj, the auditor change was not because of the accounting correction:
Edelbo’s director Morten Pedersen declined to comment, citing client confidentiality.
The new auditor EY has also billed the company for “other services” amounting to 22 million DKK (≈ 3 million USD) during 2024/25.
Halberg Group Today
What remains in the Halberg Group includes:
- The food company Løgismose (acquired in 2023),
- Halberg Hotels,
- Elka Rainwear, and
- Halberg Properties, which invests in real estate.
In addition, over 400 million DKK (≈ 56 million USD) is invested in securities, and 122 million DKK (≈ 17 million USD) was held in cash at the end of the last financial year (April 30).
The company is satisfied with the performance of these divisions, which together produced a profit of 39 million DKK (≈ 5.5 million USD) before tax in 2024/25.
For the current year, Halberg expects revenue between 850 and 950 million DKK (≈ 119–133 million USD) and a profit of 35–50 million DKK (≈ 4.9–7 million USD) before tax.
The Halberg family’s fourth and fifth generations — Ole Einar Halberg, Lee-Emilie Grøsfjeld Halberg, and Ann-Julie Grøsfjeld Halberg — together own 56 % of the shares and 25 % of the voting rights, while the Halberg Foundation owns the rest.
