I have been wondering out of curiosity what Ilkka’s share price would be if the company distributed its Alma shares and only its own business remained. Right now, the market considers the value of its proprietary digital business to be heavily negative, which in itself is an achievement when even the most wretched IT consultants on the Helsinki Stock Exchange are worth tens of millions.
This mismatch shows that investors believe Ilkka destroys everything it touches. In acquisitions, the money has indeed been burning a hole in the pocket, and then they’ve gone on a digital-hype buying spree acquiring everything that sounds nice. The sellers have trimmed their companies’ financial metrics for sale and extracted a hefty price from a foolish buyer. Under the new owner, the positive development of these digital kiosks has stopped. Now, over €60M has been burned on businesses that yield nothing for the shareholders.
CEOs and boards have been fired for less. At Ilkka, everyone seems to have a comfortable sinecure.