Advania

Advania AB

Industry| Information technology
Founded| Rooted in 1939 - established as a unified brand in 2012.
Headquarters| Stockholm, Sweden

Number of locations

| 53 in 9 countries (2024)

Area served

| Northern Europe

Key people

* Gestur Gestsson, COB
* Hege Støre, CEO
* Henrik Schibler, CFO
* Henrik Foyn-Laukvik, Head of M&A
* Ægir Þórisson, CPO
* Janne Ahonen, CEO Finland
* Geoff Kneen, CEO UK
* Hildur Einarsdóttir, CEO Iceland
* Sigurður Þorsteinsson, CEO Denmark
* Siv Hjellegjerde Martinsen, CEO Norway
* Tomas Wanselius, CEO Sweden

Operating income

| SEK 18.4 billion (2024, Pro-Forma)
Owner| Goldman Sachs Asset Management (majority), IK Partners, VIA equity and others.

Number of employees

| 5,500+
Website|

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Advania is a Northern European IT services provider headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.[1] The company provides IT solutions to organizations across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 New markets
* 3 Business structure
* 4 Sustainability initiatives
* 5 Financial profile
* 6 Ownership
* 7 References

## History

Advania has roots in three Nordic countries: Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Over a long period of time each country generated a component of what eventually was braided into one company, Advania AB, in 2012.

The company's origins trace back to 1939 with the founding of EJS, an office equipment repair workshop in Reykjavík. In the following decades, EJS expanded into computing and later merged with Skýrr, an Icelandic IT company established in 1952 by the Icelandic government and the City of Reykjavík to advance computing and record-keeping in Iceland. Skýrr was privatized in 1995.[2] Eventually, EJS, Skýrr, and several other Icelandic IT companies merged,[1] strengthening their presence in Iceland’s IT sector.

In Sweden, Nokia Elektronic AB (later renamed Datapoint Svenska AB) was founded in 1971, eventually evolving into a system integrator called Kerfi AB. In Norway, Merkantildata Applikasjon[3] (later known as Hands) was established in 1991, focusing on ERP solutions and IT consulting.

In 2012, these entities merged to form Advania AB.[1]

## New markets

Since then, Advania has significantly grown its operations and geographical footprint through strategic acquisitions. When entering new markets, acquired companies have typically been rebranded under the Advania name, formalizing and consolidating operations locally. For instance, in Finland, Advania integrated several IT providers, including Vintor in 2019,[4] Accountor ICT in 2020,[5] Beveric in 2021, and Valtti in 2022,[6] establishing Advania Finland as a key regional entity. The same approach was taken in Denmark in 2020 and the United Kingdom in 2021, further strengthening Advania’s presence across Northern Europe.[7][8]

## Business structure

Advania operates with a decentralized business structure, where local teams maintain autonomy in decision-making. The company describes itself as vendor-neutral, selecting technology solutions based on client needs rather than specific vendor partnerships.[9]

## Sustainability initiatives

In 2023, Advania announced the Dreamhouse, a 10,000 square meter IT equipment recycling facility in Enköping, Sweden.[10] The facility, which opened in January 2025, has capacity to refurbish up to one million IT devices annually, helping reduce carbon footprints by up to 70% compared to new equipment. The Dreamhouse operates with solar energy and geothermal heating to minimize environmental impact.

## Financial profile

As of 2024, Advania's pro-forma net sales reached SEK 18.6 billion. The company has demonstrated a compound annual growth rate of 25% over the past 15 years. Advania has been rated by international credit rating agencies, with S&P Global Ratings,[11] Fitch Ratings,[12] and Moody’s assigning the company a 'B' rating with a stable outlook, confirming its financial stability and growth potential.

In March 2025, Advania completed a €375 million loan repricing, upsized to €425 million, which reduced interest rates by 75 basis points.[13]

## Ownership

In February 2021, it was announced a Goldman Sachs merchant banking division had acquired a majority share of Advania. The new owners committed to further accelerate Advania's growth both organically and through acquisitions.[14]

On August 10, 2021, Advania acquired Visolit[15] from IK Partners,[16] who reinvested in the combined group through the IK IX Fund as a minority shareholder.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Sameinast undir heitinu Advania" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið (Reykjavík, Iceland: Árvakur). 20 January 2012. http://www.mbl.is/vidskipti/frettir/2012/01/20/sameinast_undir_heitinu_advania/.
2. ↑ (in Icelandic) Einkavæðing á Íslandi 1992-2003, Hagfræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands, April 2003, https://ioes.hi.is/files/2021-05/Einkavaeding_a_Islandi_1992_2003.pdf
3. ↑ "- Merkantildata ikke noe programvarehus" (in no). 1998-05-25. https://www.digi.no/artikler/merkantildata-ikke-noe-programvarehus/337625.
4. ↑ "Vintor acquired by Advania" (in en-US). https://www.bryangarnier.com/portfolio/vintor-acquired-by-advania/.
5. ↑ "Advania is growing in Finland – acquires Accountor ICT – VIA equity" (in en-GB). 2020-01-08. https://viaequity.com/2020/01/08/advania-is-growing-in-finland-acquires-accountor-ict/.
6. ↑ "Advania to acquire Valtti from Adelis Equity Partners" (in en-US). 2022-02-16. https://www.valu8group.com/index.php/advania-to-acquire-valtti-from-adelis-equity-partners/.
7. ↑ Jonsvik, Eva-Lotta (9 Dec 2021). "Advania acquires the UK based cloud specialist Content+Cloud". https://www.advania.com/pressreleases/advania-acquires-the-uk-based-cloud-specialist-content-cloud.
8. ↑ "Rebranded Advania helps Microsoft's goal of reaching 1 million UK AI workers". Advania UK. 14 November 2023. https://www.advania.co.uk/insights/news/advania-the-new-name-for-contentcloud/.
9. ↑ "Advania vex á ógnarhraða". https://vb.is/frettir/advania-vex-ognarhratt/.
10. ↑ "Advania unveils IT equipment recycling centre - addressing industry-wide waste challenge" (in en). 2023-10-24. https://news.cision.com/advania-ab/r/advania-unveils-it-equipment-recycling-centre
addressing-industry-wide-waste-challenge,c3859046.
11. ↑ "S&P Global Ratings". https://disclosure.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3166801.
12. ↑ "Fitch Assigns Ainavda Parentco AB First Time IDR 'B(EXP)'; Outlook Stable". May 9, 2024. https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/fitch-assigns-ainavda-parentco-ab-first-time-idr-b-exp-outlook-stable-09-05-2024.
13. ↑ "News | Advania secures €425M loan, cutting interest by 75bps | Advania" (in en). https://www.advania.com/news/advania-secures-425m-loan-cuts-interest-saves-millions.
14. ↑ "Goldman Sachs funds to acquire a majority stake in Advania". 15 February 2021. https://news.cision.com/se/advania-sweden/r/goldman-sachs-funds-to-acquire-a-majority-stake-in-advania,c3286680.
15. ↑ Brombach, Harald (2021-08-10). "Visolit kjøpes opp for å danne en nordisk kjempe". https://www.digi.no/artikler/visolit-kjopes-opp-for-a-danne-en-nordisk-kjempe/512450.
16. ↑ "Advania | Private Equity Investment I Mid Cap" (in en-GB). https://ikpartners.com/investments/advania/.

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