Baker McKenzie has successfully represented Hogia AB in a case at Uddevalla district court, Sweden, where the founder's two sons, who are minority owners in the company, had requested that Hogia AB be liquidated due to alleged abuse of power by the shareholder majority. The district court had previously rejected the claim and the Court of Appeal upheld the District Court's judgment. The company should therefore not be liquidated.
Hogia AB in Stenungsund, on the west coast of Sweden, is the parent company of an IT group with approximately 30 subsidiaries, in Sweden and abroad, with a total of approximately 650 employees. The company was founded in 1980 and the group has made a profit every year since 1991. The annual turnover has been approximately SEK 600 million in recent years.
The two sons, Johan and Markus Hogsved, who together own about 30% of the company, requested in a lawsuit from 2020 that Hogia AB be liquidated because they believed that their rights as minority owners were not accommodated. Uddevalla district court rejected the claim for liquidation by its judgment announced on January 12, 2022. However, the decision was appealed to the Court of Appeal for Western Sweden, which has now confirmed the district court's judgment on April 22, 2024.
Baker McKenzie acted as legal advisor to Hogia AB and Bert-Inge Hogsved with a team led by Carl Svernlöv and Magnus Stålmarker.
- We are pleased that the court of appeal, like the district court, has agreed with us and chosen not liquidate Hogia AB. This is a victory not only for Hogia's employees and customers, but also for the entire Stenungsund region, says Carl Svernlöv, partner, Baker McKenzie.