Aurland Ressursutvikling og Myrkdalen Fjellandsby slår seg saman

Company Merger

Aurland Ressursutvikling and Myrkdalen Fjellandsby complete company merger: Establishing one of the largest tourism companies in Norway

Press release: Flåm/Myrkdalen, April 3rd 2020

Aurland Ressursutvikling and Myrkdalen Fjellandsby are merging. The merged company will become one of the largest tourism businesses in Norway, with annual sales of NOK 1 billion for all affiliated companies, 500 full-time and part-time employees and more than 1.2 million guests per year. The merged company is planning to keep expanding after the corona crisis.

- This merger is a perfect combination, which has been a joint effort over a longer period of time. Flåm is one of the world's most popular travel destinations, with the Flåm railway and the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Nærøyfjord as the main attractions. Flåm receives most visitors during the summer season. Myrkdalen is a popular winter destination, with a clear development strategy within the active all year-round segment, says Solrun Hjelleflat, CEO of Aurland Ressursutvikling. Hjelleflat will continue as CEO of the merged company.

Through the merger, a national tourism company is established, with strong regional roots and the goal of being the engine behind increased industrialisation of the tourism industry in Norway.

- Integration of a strong owner structure is natural when building a solid company which can grow even stronger in a global market. We are now establishing a clear, all year-round tourism company, which allows our guests to experience some of the best highlights Norway has to offer; fjords and mountains, summer and winter, says Egil Svoren, chairman of the board of Myrkdalen Fjellandsby AS and CEO of Schage Eiendom.

Schage Eiendom was one of the initiators of the establishment of Myrkdalen Fjellandsby AS in the late 1990s, and has since been the principal owner and proponent of more than NOK three billion in investments in cabins, hotels and infrastructure.

Both Aurland Ressursutvikling AS and Myrkdalen Fjellandsby AS are heavily affected by the ongoing corona crisis. Both companies have had to lay off most employees due to immediate loss of income. However, with very solid and long-term owners, the company has a strong foundation for continuing its offensive efforts when the pandemic is over.

- We want to be ready to accelerate when society is returning to normal life, and most people start planning their travel adventures again. After this crisis, we believe that Norway will emerge as an even more attractive destination. We will then be ready  to yet again attract the tourists, says Chairman of the Board Sverre S. Tysland in Aurland Ressursutvikling AS.

After the merger, the company is valued between NOK 1.5 and 2 billion. The ownership structure in Aurland Ressursutvikling AS will constitute of:  SIVA (36.5%), Aurland Eige (30.8%), Schage Eiendom (23.0%) and Sogn Sparebank (9.7%).

For more information please contact:

Sverre S. Tysland
Chairman of the board - Aurland Ressursutvikling AS
sty@kvale.no
tlf. 0047 908 33 323

Egil Svoren
Chariman of the board - Myrkdalen Fjellandsby AS and CEO at Schage Eiendom
es@schage.no
tlf. 0047 900 95 075

Solrun Hjelleflat
CEO - Aurland Ressursutvikling
solrun@visitflam.com
tlf. 0047 414 02 158

Kaia Finne
CEO - Myrkdalen Fjellandsby AS
kaia.finne@myrkdalen.no
tlf. 0047 480 66 092

About Aurland Ressursutvikling AS
Aurland Ressursutvikling and affiliated companies have more than 120 full-time employees and about 250 seasonal workers. Through subsidiaries and partly owned companies, the company is operating and developing unique sustainable world class tourism products. The company, which is located in Flåm in Aurland municipality, markets and sells travel experiences in a national and global market. The company owns 50% of the company operating the Flåm Railway and 50% of The Fjords. Marketing and facilitation takes place through the wholly owned subsidiary Flåm AS.

About Myrkdalen Fjellandsby AS
Schage Eiendom was one of the initiators of the establishment of Myrkdalen Fjellandsby AS in the late 1990s and has since been principal owner. Since then, approximately 600 holiday homes, hotels, shops, four restaurants, two chairlifts and six other ski lifts have been built, representing total investments of approximately NOK 3 billion. Myrkdalen has a total sales of more than NOK 250 million annually, more than half of which comes from property development. The company employs up to 200 people and is the largest private employer in Voss municipality.

About Schage Eiendom AS
Schage is a real estate company with gross valuations of NOK 9 billion, and a value adjusted equity of NOK 5.5 billion. The company is involved in building and development of major projects within office, trade, housing and destination development in Norway. The company has since 1998 owned the subsidiary Schage Reeal Estate in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company has been principal owner (80%) in Myrkdalen Fjellandsby and in addition, the company is part owner (24%) in the shopping center company Scala Eiendom.

Schage Eiendom is owned 50/50 by the Schage families through the holding companies Sollerud Holding AS and Beetle Invest AS. Headquarter in Oslo.