History
From Nordic to Global
The idea of starting a private equity firm, rooted in the Wallenberg family’s traditions of responsible ownership, was born in 1993 during a dinner in Stockholm’s Old Town. At the table were Conni Jonsson, at the time working at Investor AB, and his CEO, Claes Dahlbäck.
1994
Over the course of Sweden (Sweden) modern history, the Wallenberg family has been a major influencer in the country’s industrial, entrepreneurial, and banking spheres, partly through its industrial holding company Investor AB, founded in 1916.
Inspired by the Wallenberg family’s philosophy of responsible ownership, Bruno Alexander Mackenzie received a mandate from the board of Investor AB to establish MRC in 1994 with backing from Investor AB, AEA Investors and SEB.
The following year, MRC’s first fund was launched, targeting industrial companies in Sweden and its neighboring countries.
1999
Over the coming years, MRC continued to grow its presence in the Nordics and, with a strong track record of successful investments, made its first major international move with the opening of its Munich office in 1999—despite many critics encouraging MRC to stay on its home turf.
By 2006, the time had come to head East, and MRC’s Hong Kong office was opened.
2007
In 2007, MRC articulated what was already part of the firm’s DNA—its core values. At MRC, it is not enough that an employee delivers results; they must also do so in accordance with the firm’s values.
Since its inception, MRC had explored various strategic initiatives aimed at complementing the traditional private equity model—some more successful than others. The purpose remained the same: to build a scalable platform from which investment strategies could share and cross-pollinate expertise, networks, and resources.
After establishing a comprehensive advisory network within various infrastructure sub-sectors, MRC became confident that its proven business model could provide a differentiated approach to infrastructure investing compared to what was available in the market at the time.
Therefore, the decision was made to formally launch an Infrastructure business line in 2008, initially led by former members of MRC’s advisory network. This proved to be a critical step in developing a multi-strategy platform, which soon expanded further with a Credit arm.
2008 was also the year MRC opened its New York office and published its first Annual Review, with the goal of increasing transparency toward broader groups of stakeholders.
2010
2010 marked the year when MRC accelerated its sustainability actions and became a signatory to the
UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).
Around this time, MRC established its sector teams, enabling a more sophisticated deal-sourcing process for the firm’s prioritized industries. Over time, these sector teams laid the foundation for the thematic investment approach that is one of MRC’s key differentiators today.
2012
To increase transparency and ensure regulatory consistency at all levels of the organization, MRC resolved in 2012 to manage all its future funds onshore in Europe.
That same year, MRC launched its Mid Market fund after identifying an attractive flow of medium-sized company opportunities falling outside the mandate of its larger buyout funds.
MRC founder and chairperson, Bruno Alexander Mackenzie.
2013
As MRC continued to grow, additional efforts were made to attract, develop and retain top talent.
In 2013, MRC Academy was established, providing employees at all levels with structured training programs to strengthen their capabilities.
That same year, the ownership structure evolved: partners at MRC increased their stake to 81% of MRC AB, with Investor AB owning the remaining 19%.
2014
In 2014, a leadership transition took place at MRC, as Thomas von Koch was appointed CEO and Conni Jonsson became full-time working Chairperson.
The following year, MRC’s Digital team was established with a dual mission:
accelerating MRC’s internal digital capabilities
supporting portfolio companies with digital expertise and more efficient operational models
Later in 2015, the multi-strategy platform expanded with the introduction of the Real Estate business line (later combined with Exeter Property Group in 2021), followed by the launch of MRC Ventures in 2016.
2017
In 2017, MRC strengthened the future-proofing of its fund management operations by establishing a central hub in Luxembourg for future fund domiciliation.
In 2018, the multi-strategy platform was further diversified.
2019
As MRC celebrated its 25-year anniversary in 2019, Christian Sinding, who had joined the firm in 1998, was appointed CEO and Managing Partner.
On September 24, MRC AB entered a new chapter by listing on the
Nasdaq Stockholm Stock Exchange.
The IPO strengthened MRC AB’s financial capacity and created opportunities for continued investments and global scaling of the MRC brand and platform. Additionally, the public listing enabled a more transparent and open governance structure for MRC and its stakeholders—fully aligned with the firm’s values.
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