Kirkbi A/S (Kirkbi) is a Danish

investment management Investment management (sometimes referred to more generally as financial asset management) is the professional asset management of various Security (finance), securities, including shareholdings, Bond (finance), bonds, and other assets, such as r ...

company headquartered in

Billund, Denmark Billund () is a town in Jutland, Denmark. With a population of 7,484 (), Billund is the second largest town in Billund Municipality, behind the municipal seat of Grindsted. It is located approximately east of Grindsted and west of Vejle. Bil ...

that serves as a

family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

to manage the fortune of the Kristiansen family, the current owners of

the Lego Group Lego A/S, also known as the Lego Group, is a Danish construction toy production company based in Billund. It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking ABS plastic and rubber bricks. The Lego Group has also built severa ...

. It owns 75% of The Lego Group, 47.5% of

Merlin Entertainments Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global entertainment company based in London, England, which operates a number of theme park resorts and other visitor attractions. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was ...

and

BrainPop BrainPop (stylized as BrainPOP) is a group of educational websites founded in 1999 by Avraham Kadar, M.D. and Chanan Kadmon, based in New York City.The Certificate of Incorporation of Brainpop.com, LLC was filed with the Secretary of State of t ...

. Kirkbi has additional offices in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

as well as Baar in Switzerland.

Background

Kirkbi was established on 1 April 1995, as a family office for the Kristiansen family, who are owners of the Lego Group. Its primary function is safeguarding the Lego brand and providing a creative platform for children. It also functions as the custodian of the Kristiansen family's wealth. It appoints one person from each generation as its active owner. After the death of

Godtfred Kirk Christiansen Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (8 July 1920 – 13 July 1995) was the managing director of The Lego Group from 1957 to 1973. He was the third son of company founder Ole Kirk Christiansen and took over as managing director in 1957, eventually becomi ...

, his son

Kjeld Kjeld is a person name derived from the Old Norse and may refer to: Given name *Saint Kjeld (fl. 1100–1150), Danish clergyman * Kjeld Abell (1901–1961), Danish playwright and theatrical designer * Kjeld Ammentorp (1895–1975), Danish-British ...

took over. Kirkbi also serves as an investment company for the Kristiansen family. Its investment activities can be split between core capital and thematic capital. Core capital includes real estate, equity, and

fixed income Fixed income refers to any type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the pr ...

assets, while thematic capital focuses on

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

investments. Notable companies that Kirbi has invested in for its core capital portfolio include

Armacell Armacell is a manufacturer and supplier of industrial foams and flexible insulation materials, based in Luxembourg. It has over 3,372 employees and 25 production plants in 20 countries. History Armacell was the insulator manufacturing di ...

, Falck,

ISS A/S ISS A/S (International Service System) is a facility management services company founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1901. ISS's core services include: security, cleaning, technical, food and workplace. The ISS Group’s revenue amounted to DKK 69. ...

and

Nilfisk Nilfisk is a supplier of professional cleaning equipment in both industrial, commercial and consumer markets. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with sales entities in 45 countries and dealers in more than 100 countries. Nil ...

. Kirkrbi also financed the Lego campus, which acts as the headquarters of the Lego Group. In 2007, Kjeld bought out Gunhild's share of Kirkbi, leaving Kjeld and his children as the sole owners of Kirkbi and the Lego Group. Gunhild formed Kirk Kapital. In 2005, the Lego Group sold

Legoland Legoland (, trademarked in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family amusement parks focusing on the Lego building toy brand. They are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments, which shares a common owner ...

during a time of

financial distress Financial distress is a term in corporate finance used to indicate a condition when promises to creditors of a company are broken or honored with difficulty. If financial distress cannot be relieved, it can lead to bankruptcy. Financial dist ...

. At the same time,

Blackstone Inc. Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...

and Kirkbi acquired Merlin Entertainments for $105 million, with Kirkbi taking a 30% stake. In 2013, Merlin Entertainments held a $5.6 billion

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

, becoming a listed company. In 2019, Kirkbi, Blackstone, and

CPP Investment Board The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB; ), operating as CPP Investments (), is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 ''Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act'' to oversee and invest the funds contributed to and h ...

took Merlin Entertainments private for $7.6 billion. This led to Kirkbi increasing its ownership of Merlin Entertainments to almost 50%. In 2021, Kirkbi reported a profit of DKr 27 billion, quadrupling that of 2020, which was DKr 6.4 billion. The gains mainly came from its equity portfolio, with a return of 23.3%. However, it lost money regarding its stake in Merlin Entertainments due to COVID-19 lockdowns and its investments in fixed income and

green energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the environment, the economy, and so ...

. On 1 May 2023, Kjeld passed ownership of Kirkbi to his son,

Thomas Kirk Kristiansen Thomas Kirk Kristiansen (born 18 February 1979) is a Danish fourth-generation owner of The Lego Group. Together with his father Kjeld, and sisters Agnete and Sofie, they split ownership of a 75% stake in the company. Among the children of Kj ...

, who now serves as the Chairman of Kirkbi and the Lego Group. 75% of Kirkbi shares will be split between the fourth generation of Thomas and his two sisters,

Agnete Agneta (also spelt Agnete, Agnetha, or Agnethe) is a Scandinavian variant of the feminine given name Agnes. It was derived from Latin and is the ablative case attached form of Agnes. Notable people Agneta * Agneta Andersson (born 1961), Swedish c ...

and Sofie, where each will have around 25% each. Their father will hold 22.5%. On 1 December 2023, Sofie sold 4 million shares in Kirkbi for $930 million. On 12 April 2025, Kirkbi vice president Michael Halbye, who was considered to be the "boss" of Kirkbi, died in a skiing accident in Switzerland.

References

External links

* {{authority control Lego Companies based in Billund Municipality Danish companies established in 1995 Financial services companies established in 1995 Investment management companies of Denmark Privately held companies of Denmark Kristiansen family Family offices

Background

See also

References

External links