Braganza AB is a Swedish privately held

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

owned by Norwegian investor Per G. Braathen. The company has roots in Norway, where it was involved in shipping and aviation. Over the years, Braganza has focused primarily on the transport and tourism sectors. As of 2023, Braganza AB reported a revenue of 9.3 billion SEK and employed approximately 1,200 people.

History

Braganza was founded in 1938 by Ludvig G. Braathen as part of the

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

movement under the name ''Ludv.G. Braathens Rederi''. In 1946, Braathens founded the airline Braathens S.A.F.E., organizing its ownership through Braganza. The company held sole ownership of Braathens S.A.F.E. until 1994 and maintained partial ownership until 2001, when Norway's largest domestic airline was sold to the

SAS Group SAS AB, trading as SAS Group, is a Swedish airline holding company headquartered in Solna Municipality, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines, SAS Link, and SAS Connect. As of 2024, SAS Group is owned by a group of s ...

for 1.1 billion

Norwegian krone The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...

In addition to its airline interests, Braganza has previously owned Braathens Helikopter and Busy Bee. The company acquired several airlines, including

Malmö Aviation Braathens Regional Aviation, was a Swedish airline based in Malmö. From 2016 it provided wet-leasing services in partnership with its sister airline Braathens Regional Airways for Braathens Regional Airlines.

and Transwede, and Braathens S.A.F.E. was publicly listed, resulting in a dispersion of ownership, with a significant stake controlled by the airline

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

. In 2001, Braathens was acquired by SAS. In 2014, Per G. Braathen, the grandson of the founder, relocated the entire Braganza group from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Braathen stated that the decision was made in protest against Norway's corporate tax system and what Braathen described as populist politics. He claimed that Sweden provided a more predictable governance and a better environment for running companies.

Current Operations

Today, Braganza maintains significant investments in the

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

industries. Major holdings include Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park and Braathens Regional Aviation

References

External links

Official website
{{Braathens Holding companies of Norway Holding companies established in 1938 Companies based in Oslo Braathens Airline holding companies Transport companies established in 1938 Norwegian companies established in 1938