So, do we, as small shareholders, have any other hope than to massively buy this stock and thereby, with our voting power at the general meeting, push through the merging of share classes and the dismantling of the supervisory board, which acts as a useless entity?
In practice, that’s not possible, because the class B shares have no decision-making power. There are so few class A shares for sale and the price is high, so you can’t buy enough of them.
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Yes, Ilkka is reasonably strongly defended against takeovers. Apparently wealthy Ostrobothnians are buying available Series A shares, and for example, during the last year, less than 400,000 shares of that series
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I would now approach this matter from a slightly different angle than the carrion flies circling around the wealth accumulated in Ilkka. Everyone naturally understands that the current stock price does not reflect the amount of the company’s wealth, but the market determines the price. Many similar cases can be found on the stock exchange, but few complain about why Kojamo doesn’t distribute its apartment buildings as dividends when their book value exceeds the stock price.
Deep moats have been built into the articles of association precisely so that completely external parties do not take over the company and put the wealth accumulated over a century into their own pockets. They have not been accumulating those assets, nor do they have any direct right to them.
The situation regarding Ilkka has been somewhat the same for as long as I have been involved with stocks. In such situations, I think it’s just best to acknowledge the realities and move on. On discussion forums, one can, of course, grumble about how the old owners don’t understand anything.
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I, as a “carrion fly,” must object to the extent that:
- unlike in Kojamo’s case, Ilkka excessively owns, i.e., more than its stock market value, one publicly listed share (Alma Media) unrelated to its core business, which Ilkka’s owner could just as well own directly or through some other means
- the media/newspaper acquisitions of the 1980s are ancient history for most of us, and even Ilkka has this year divested from its newspaper operations and formed a partnership with Kaleva, in which it owns 34%. The printing presses, Hilla groups, etc., are also gone. So what has been defended against is already in the past
- the current Ilkka, despite everything, is primarily a nationwide business acquired over the last roughly 5 years, without a specific local character
- most owners are naturally interested in the value of their holdings, and the 2025 episode, i.e., the share price increase and subsequent decrease, surely awakened many traditional owners as well
=> I myself guess that some kind of Alma arrangement / partial value unbundling will be seen, because all kinds of publicity create pressure for even the so-called traditional stubborn ones to be reasonable
Meanwhile, Ilkka’s dividend stream gives time to wait
Of course, there is a risk that Alma’s assets will be squandered, for example, on the acquisition of that Ilkka/Kaleva joint venture, or some other acquisition
But the fact did not change this year that the I-series shareholders are the ones with voting power, and they decided to continue being powerful men instead of rich men.
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Is anyone else having the same problem that Ilkka’s shares couldn’t be traded at all today? At least in Nordea, I’m experiencing this, but everything else can be bought and sold😊
I had the same problem with Nordea today, and it was already happening on Friday… I contacted them, and they promised to get in touch once the issue was resolved, but I still haven’t heard anything!
Satu Otala of the Board of Directors, Communications Director of Stark (formerly Kamux), initiated a message and sold her holdings in Ilkka.
A number of shares equivalent to a TOP100 voting stake were sold, specifically over 3,500 Series I shares and
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They appear to be shares from the estate of a close relative.
Veikko appears to have been a very long-standing member and former chairman of Ilkka’s board, excerpt from the 2004 annual report:
Did Veikko turn in his grave when the heirs sold off the shares?
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Without knowing that particular family too well. Generally, it makes everyday life easier when you don’t have to carry your fathers’ sins with you daily. 
And on the other hand, ultimately the world belongs to insects, so perhaps one of us flies was there buying the Ostrobothnian heritage society.
However, sales continue, the same party again and a good 10 units of the first series:
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Apparently, the estate has drawn its own conclusions about the durability of the ‘lock of the plains’; it’s hardly a coincidence that the shares are being sold after the voting power reform failed. Veikko Heikkilä passed away already in January 2024.
Besides a distinguished history as a local influencer, and a history with Ilkka for the gentleman, he also had a significant stake in Ilkka, ranking 24th by voting power.
But when looking at the list measured by voting power, the new home for Veikko Heikkilä’s shares doesn’t have much significance, as there are so many of those Series I shares scattered around.
24)Heikkilä Veikko
Series I 33 264
Series II 10 098
Number of shares 43 362
Voting power of shares % 0.64
His positions of trust also extended to the media sector, the most significant of which was a long membership on the Board of Directors of Ilkka-Yhtymä Oyj from 1986 and chairmanship of the board from 1994–2007.
Alavus City Council observed a moment of silence in memory of Municipal Councillor Veikko Heikkilä | Viiskunta Alavuden kaupunginvaltuusto hiljeni kunnallisneuvos Veikko Heikkilän muistolle | Viiskunta
Largest owners by voting power - Ilkka share.google
According to Ilkka’s website, I-series shares are not just bought like that. So the following is still in force there:
“According to Article 3 of the Articles of Association, the company’s Series I shares are subject to a consent clause, according to which a share may not be transferred to another person without the consent of the Board of Directors.”
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Yes, you can buy it quite freely, but the registration of ownership requires the board’s approval.
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I don’t personally know how this works in practice nowadays, but in past years, a deal only succeeded if it had received the green light from the government (or their representative) (I heard this from a farmer back then). It’s getting a bit into semantics, but indeed, money doesn’t necessarily decide it here; you really need to get permission for the deal to go through and for the money of ownership to change hands.
That link you provided contains a clear answer to the matter:
In practice, those shares do not grant voting rights if the board does not approve the transfer. Otherwise, it has no significance for the buyer, and trading can be done freely without the board’s permission.
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True. The purchase apparently succeeds, but without approval, it converts into a premium-priced income share.
I would somewhat oppose this. The right to funds always belongs to the current owner. Whether they have been an owner for decades or just a year. We operate in a free market economy, where the previous owner has ended up selling their ownership at a price agreed upon by the parties. After that, it’s pointless to start grumbling about any moral rights to accumulated wealth.
I myself have been following this activity for a longer time and found some kind of semi-rational reason for protecting the I-series, especially when the newspapers were directly part of the company. However, this is a business that evokes strong emotions from the perspective of the region’s culture. Nowadays, the newspapers are part of Kaleva Media company and Ilkka is only a minority owner, meaning direct decision-making power is gone anyway. Considering this, the voting result obtained at the shareholders’ meeting now seems particularly absurd. Surely all voters have been reminded that the newspapers were actually merged already in the spring. The front page of Ilkka-Pohjalainen for a couple of weeks, so the matter will surely be clear in the future, keeping an eye on an upcoming vote. I doubt Helsinki-based advertising agencies are very dear.
In my opinion, the most value-creating arrangement could be between Ilkka and its I-series owners. The I-series owners could establish a new company/consortium, to which the current Ilkka could sell its Kaleva Media ownership in exchange for I-series shareholdings. Also, the Ilkka name and associated IPs, etc., could be included in the deal if they increased the attractiveness of the arrangement.
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Nearly 10 years ago, after the purchase of the family’s Series 1 shares, the board requested some kind of clarification. I submitted the clarification, and later we received information about our voting right. So, we received the voting right.
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Sales continue, again by Vilho Heikkilä’s controlled entity and Satu Otala of the Supervisory Board, now just over 2,500 Class A shares.
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