Anora Group

History

The intention to form Anora Group was announced on 29 September 2020. As regulators in Finland, Norway and Sweden reviewed the proposal, they decided several brands would have to be divested to avoid unfair market dominance by the new company. As such, Altia sold Skåne Akvavit, Hallands Fläder, Brøndum and Grönstedts. Arcus unloaded Akevitt Spesial, SPRT and Dworek. All seven brands were purchased by Sweden-based Galatea Spirits, traditionally a wholesaler and distributor throughout Scandinavia. The merger received government approval and was finalized on 1 September 2021.

Anora Group was initially listed for trading on both the Nasdaq Helsinki and Oslo Stock Exchange but by December 2021 it had already requested and received approval to be delisted in Oslo by the end of the year.

Anora's deeper history, through its predecessors Altia and Arcus, can be traced back to some of the oldest Nordic spirits brands through a long series of mergers and acquisitions:

Denmark

In 1846, Isidor Henius founded a distillery in Aalborg, but it was not the only one in the city. In 1872, Aalborg Privilegerede Spritfabrik became a company by uniting several small distilleries. De Danske Spritfabrikker was established by Carl Frederik Tietgen who turned it into a publicly traded company in 1881, which by 1923 owned all Danish distilleries. In the face of the temperance movement, the company was granted a government-sanctioned monopoly on all production which lasted until 1973. In 2008, Pernod Ricard bought the Danish company and its brands. Arcus bought them from Pernod in 2013. By 2015 production was moved to Norway.