Reuters reports that the Icelandic investment company Baugur, which owns or has stakes in a many recognized British high street retailers, said on Wednesday its interests continue to perform well and are unaffected by turbulence in the Icelandic economy.

Stodir, an investment company formerly known as FL Group, had been due to hold a shareholder meeting on Tuesday to vote on its plans to take a 39 percent stake in Baugur. That meeting was cancelled, fuelling market and media speculation that Baugur might have to sell some of its assets. Read the full story

FL Group announced today that it has been rebranded as Stodir and has acquired of a 39% stake in the Baugur Group under the new name. With the transaction, Stodir´s equity will increase by ISK 25 billion.

The transaction was conducted by means of a share swap and issuance of new shares in Stodir. The completion of this transaction is subject to shareholder approval at Stodir’s shareholder meeting, scheduled for late July. Stodir´s largest shareholder is Styrkur Invest which is majority owned by Gaumur.

Baugur Group recently sold off all its assets in Iceland and has said it will focus only on retail investments in the UK, Scandinavia and the US. Baugur’s core operations will be managed out of London and its largest retail investments include Iceland, House of Fraser, Mosaic Fashions, Hamley’s, Whistles, Goldsmiths, Magasin du Nord, Illum and Saks.

Further financial information about Stodir will be provided when Stodir presents its second quarter results on 29 August.

For more information on Stodir visit www.flgroup.is

Baugur Group, a large investment company based in Iceland, has decided to sell off part of its holdings in order to focus on retail investments. As a result, the group’s holdings in the areas of media, technology, and finance have been sold for a total of GBP 430 million (USD 850 million; EUR 533 million), according to the Associated Press.

As a result of the sale, Baugur will also be concentrating its focus more geographically. The majority of the group’s holdings after the sale will be situated in Britain, Scandinavia and the U.S.

Before the sale, 35 per cent of the company’s holdings were located in Iceland. Following the deal, only 13.9 per cent of Baugur’s assets will be in its Nordic homeland.

Stodir Invest purchased the majority of Baugur’s media and telecoms holdings. Styrkur Invest bought up most of the financial investments offered by Baugur, including the group’s stake in FL group, a prominent investment firm.

In a statement released by Baugur, the company also announced that two members of its executive board will leave Baugur. One will take a position as CEO of Stodir Invest and the other as CEO of Stykur Invest.

According to Gunnar Sigurdsson, the chief executive of Baugur, “We will also continue to build on the existing strengths of our brand portfolio which is already valued in excess of GBP 1.5 billion (USD 3 billion; EUR 1.9 billion) and has significant global potential.”

In an interview on Squawk Box on the US television network CNBC, Jon Asgeir Johannesson, Executive Chairman of Baugur Group, spoke of “interesting times” in the global market, according to Frettabladid.

The programme introduced Johannesson as “the most powerful man in British retail”, a title earned due to the impressive empire his Icelandic company has amassed on the British high street. Baugur Group counts House of Fraser, Goldsmiths, Iceland supermarkets and Hamleys among its many outlets.

During the interview Johannesson said that Baugur sees interesting times ahead and that the company is always on the lookout for good buys in Europe and North America.

But the tycoon expects the biggest growth to come from India and China, where he says, “growth is so fast that a company can lose its competitive edge if growth is below 30%.”

When asked about the high profile court cases against him and others in the company, Johannesson maintained his claim the whole scenario was politically motivated, and stated that it seems highly unlikely any new charges will be brought.

After Baugur Group’s changes today, Styrkur Invest now holds 39.05% of shares in FL Group. According to Styrkur Invest spokesman and its CEO, Eirikur S. Johannsson, these changes are planned to promote value for investors and investee companies like FL Group and should have little or no effect on FL Group’s operations.

FL Group reported in a press release, “Following a share capital increase in Styrkur Invest, major shareholders in Styrkur Invest will be shareholders of Baugur Group and related parties (47.1%) and Kaldbakur, an investment vehicle for Samherji hf. (33.6%). Styrkur Invest’s sole asset is a 39.05% stake in FL Group, there of Styrkur Invest has bought 1.75% shares today at ISK 7.28 per share.”

Eirikur S. Johannsson, former Managing Director of Investments at Baugur Group, has been appointed CEO of Styrkur Invest. Eirikur S. Johannsson will remain a Board Director of FL Group and Jon Asgeir Johannesson will remain FL Group´s Chairman.

For 2007 Baugur Group has decided that instead of producing the annual New Year’s TV greeting, the company will support The Sun Fund. The fund was established in relation to the wedding of Ingibjörg Stefanía Pálmadóttir and Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson last October.

The purpose of The Sun Fund is to make life easier for children who suffer from illnesses and their families. The Sun Fund’s revenue comes from unconditional donations to the fund as well as return from its assets.

The board of directors of The Sun Fund consists of Ingibjörg Stefanía Pálmadóttir, Chairman, Ása Karen Ásgeirsdóttir, Kristín Jóhannesdóttir and Steinunn Sigurðardóttir.

The board of the fund allocates grants annually, but exceptions may be made to allocate more than once annually.