Sampo Group

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The story of Sampo began in 1909, when the Mutual Insurance Company Sampo was established in Turku, Finland.

The 1980s were a turning point in Sampo's history. In 1987, Sampo changed its company type from a mutual insurance company to a limited company. The company's insurance customers became shareholders, and Sampo was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in January 1988.

Sampo's acquisition of state-owned Leonia Bank was the number one business news story at the turn of the millennium. Sampo's Annual General Meeting approved the merger in April 2000. The Finnish state became the largest owner of Sampo-Leonia.

Leonia Bank became Sampo Bank in February 2001, and Investment Bank Mandatum joined Sampo Group later that spring. Björn Wahlroos became Group CEO and President and brought with him a new type of thinking derived from his banking expertise. The focus of operations shifted towards bank services and long-term savings.

In 2002, Sampo became a shareholder of the Nordic property and casualty insurance company If. Two years later, Sampo bought out the Norwegian company Storebrand, the Swedish-owned Skandia, and the Finnish insurance company Varma, making itself the sole owner of If.

In 2006, Sampo Group announced a historic divestment, selling its banking operations, known as Sampo Bank, to the Danish Danske Bank for over €4 billion (US$4.5 billion). This sale allowed Sampo to focus on its insurance business, with the proceeds invested in shares of Nordea, the largest bank in the Nordic region, until Sampo sold its entire holding in Nordea in April 2022.

On 29 March 2023 the Board proposed a demerger of Sampo plc by separating Mandatum from Sampo. The Annual General Meeting approved the demerger plan on 17 May 2023. The partial demerger of Sampo plc became effective on 1 October 2023.