The estimated dent to the family fortune is based on regulatory filings showing it holds roughly 15% of ISS.
Published: Fri 8 Nov 2019, 12:52 PM
Updated: Fri 8 Nov 2019, 3:07 PM
Lego, the Danish toy production company, suffered a loss of $150 million in a single day triggered from a profit warning from ISS A/S - a leading global provider of facility services.
According to reports in Bloomberg, The Lego billionaires lost the substantive amount of their family fortune based on regulatory filings showing it holds roughly 15 per cent of ISS.
The profit warning from ISS A/S shaved 20 per cent off the market value of the Danish office-service firm.
Kirkbi, which oversees about $16 billion on behalf of the Kirk Kristiansen family that owns Lego, saw the value of its holdings fall about $150 million on Wednesday.
The Lego billionaires have stayed loyal to ISS and currently have at around 7.5% of its share capital. However, Hedge-fund speculation against ISS has coincided with a strategy shift in which ISS Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Gravenhorst, said he only wants to target the biggest clients, and ditch smaller customers.
After the Lego family fortune dipped on Wednesday, Gravenhorst said defended his strategy but acknowledged he had been "too ambitious" in his approach.
In a phone interview, Gravenhorst said he is "extremely sorry" for the profit warning and tried to reassure investors that "2020 will be good" after ISS investors witnessing the value of their holding slump by almost a quarter.