TheEAC Invest A/S,formerly known as theSanta Fe GroupandEast Asiatic Company(Danish:Det Østasiatiske KompagniorØK) is a multinational holding and investment company, based inCopenhagen,Denmark. Originally founded byHans Niels Andersenin 1887.
Formerly | East Asiatic Company Santa Fe Group |
---|---|
Company type | Aktieselskab |
Industry | Investment |
Founded | 1897 | in Copenhagen, Denmark
Founder | Hans Niels Andersen |
Headquarters | , |
Subsidiaries | Russian East Asiatic Siam Steam Navigation Est Asiatique Francais Swedish East Asiatic D/S A/S Orient |
It owned 5 subsidiary companies: Russian East Asiatic based in Saint Petersburg, Siam Steam Navigation based in Bangkok, Est Asiatique Francais based in Paris, Swedish East Asiatic based in Gothenburg, and D/S A/S Orient based in Copenhagen.[1]
History
editBackground
editThe East Asiatic Company (Danish:Det Østasiatiske KompagniorØK) was founded byHans Niels Andersenin Copenhagen in 20 March 1897[2]on the basis of Hans' previous company Andersen & Co. Anderson & Co was established in 1884 with DanishAndreas du Plessis de Richelieu.Together, their company owned and operated theOriental Hotelin Bangkok, which became the first foreign hotel in Thailand; it also was the main supplier to the Siamese Marine Forces which Andreas headed.[3]
He had purchased the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok with Captain Peter Andersen in 1884. They would go out renovating the premise after borrowing 40,000 Danish Crowns from the Borneo Company. Being one of the only hotels in Bangkok at the time, the hotel attracted sailors and officers from foreign boats who were staying in the city.[2]
Formation
editAndersen managed to secure funding from Isak Glueckstadt. Isak was the financier and manager director of the largest bank in Northern Europe, Landmandsbanken. The company grew from teak tree concessions it had bought in Siam and operated direct lines from Bangkok to Europe.[2]Service which would eventually include both passenger and freight lines between the Danish capital,Bangkokand thefar eastwas the initial objective. Routes to include theBalticandBlack Seaswere established when in 1899, the subsidiaryRussian American LineCo. ofSt. Petersburgwas formed.
Europe-Asia operations widened when the firm,Est Asiatique FrancaisofParis,followed in 1902, the new DanishWest Indian Company,in 1905 and theSiam Steam Navigation Company,in 1908. The second of these was eventually renamed Thai Navigation Co. after theThaigovernment took it over in 1941. For trade in the South of Africa, theSwedish East India Companylater began regular trips. The subsidiaryRussian American Linebegan sailing to North America in 1916, continuing until 1917. Another, theBaltic American Line,continued the service under the Danish flag from 1921 to 1930. EAC was also involved in shipping for hire withtrampoperations beginning in 1915 under the subsidiary D/S A/S Orient of Copenhagen.
In 1905, the company purchasedWater Islandin the Caribbean from the Danish state, but eventually sold it to the United States in 1944, during theGerman occupation of Denmark.[4]
The company was a pioneer in development of large, commercial motorships with President Andersen placing an order withBurmeister & Wain,headed by the engineer and diesel marine engine pioneer,Ivar Knudsen,for two motorships,MSSelandiaand MSFionia,to be built by that firm.[5]Selandiabegan operation in 1912 after maiden voyage with the Danish crown prince and princess aboard followed by a visit to London where the ship created great interest with visits byWinston Churchill,admirals and influential shipping figures who then remained aboard for a voyage to Antwerp.[6]A third contracted ship,MS Jutlandia,was built in Scotland byBarclay, Curle & Companyand became the second large motorship in commercial service with any company.[5][7]By 1935 the company was operating twenty-seven motorships, including a newMSJutlandia.[7]
In these middle years, business grew considerably. TheUnited Baltic Corporationwas formed as a partnership withAndrew Weir& Co. in 1919. The early 1920s saw services extend from Copenhagen toSouth Africa,Cuba, Australia, Mexico and North Pacific ports. New York and, later,Philadelphia,BaltimoreorNorfolk, Virginiawere among the ports of call added for ships on the north Pacific route in 1940. Connections betweenVancouverand the far east were handled by Johnson Walton Steamships Ltd of Vancouver, when they were acquired in 1949.
Post-war
editDuring the Second World War, several of its ships were sunk, mostly torpedoed in the Atlantic by German U-boats.
After the war with air travelling becoming increasing popular, the company sold numerous ships in the 1950s and 1960s before discontinuing its entire passenger fleet's operations in 1969. Their last ship,Fionia,was sold to Swiss buyers and renamedMCS Schaula.[1]
In April 2015, the company rebranded itself as the Santa Fe Group, and changed its listing on theCopenhagen Stock Exchangeto the ticker reference SFG.[8]From 2016 to 2019, the group's share lost 94% of its value, and its revenue shrunk 23% year-on-year.[9]In September 2019, the Santa Fe Group was sold to Proventus Capital Partners for 1 million euros after it failed to regain a financial health.[10]Technically, the ownership of the Santa Fe Group was transferred to Santa Fe Intressenter, a company controlled by Lazarus Equity Partners and backed by Proventus.[11]Its Australian subsidiary had already been sold in a management buyout in December 2018.[12]In November 2019, the Santa Fe Group became EAC Invest.[13]
References
edit- ^ab"East Asiatic Company".theshipslist.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-02-25.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^abcNielsen, Flemming Winther (2011-03-14)."H.N. Andersen: Myths & Realities".Scandasia.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-06-22.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^Nielsen, Flemming Winther (2010-03-21)."Admiral Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu as Entrepreneur".Scandasia.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-06-21.Retrieved2023-06-22.
- ^Military History of Water Island 1900 - 1950ArchivedNovember 13, 2010, at theWayback Machine
- ^abKnudsen 1914,p. 22.
- ^Knudsen 1914,pp. 22, 24.
- ^abPacific Marine Review, March 1935,p. 77.
- ^"EAC Rebrands to Santa Fe Group A/S | Santa Fe Relocation Services".santaferelo.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-12.
- ^"The Santa Fe Group (CPH:SFG) Share Price Is Down 94% So Some Shareholders Are Rather Upset".Simplywallst.7 August 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 7 July 2023.Retrieved7 January2020.
- ^Gregers Møller (28 September 2019)."Santa Fe Relocation sold".Scandasia.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2019.Retrieved7 January2020.
- ^"Proventus Capital Partners supports ownership transfer of Santa Fe Relocation from Santa Fe Group".Proventus.se.25 September 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2019.Retrieved7 January2020.
- ^"Santa Fe Group close the sale of their Australian business in a Management Buy-Out - Company announcement No 13/2018".Globenewswire.21 December 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 16 February 2022.Retrieved7 January2020.
- ^"Santa Fe Group A/S – name change to EAC Invest A/S".Omxgroup.11 November 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 7 July 2023.Retrieved7 January2020.
Bibliography
edit- Knudsen, Ivar (1914)."A Smokeless Marine".The American—Scandinavian Review.2(1). American—Scandinavian Foundation: 21–28.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
- Pacific Marine Review (1935)."New MotorshipJutlandia".Pacific Marine Review.XXXII(3). San Francisco: J.S. Hines.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
- The Ships List