Christen Ager-Hanssen
Christen Eugen Ager-Hanssen | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 29, 1962 Halden, Norway |
| Occupation(s) | Internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for | Internet commercialization in the 1990s, venture capital, public hostile takeover attempts |
Christen Eugen Ager-Hanssen (born July 29, 1962) is a Norwegian internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist, who has been based in London since the late 1990s. He is recognized for his contentious involvement in private equity and notable mergers and acquisitions, including public hostile takeover attempts. Often described as a contemporary Viking and compared to the fictional business figure Gordon Gekko, Ager-Hanssen asserted that by 1999 he ranked among Norway’s wealthiest individuals, though this claim remains contested.
Ager-Hanssen's specialization centers on the Internet's commercialization during the 1990s. His business activities encompassed pioneering search engines, satellite-based internet infrastructure, legal digital music platforms, banking solutions, email marketing, banner advertising, and pay-per-click campaigns. He channels investments through his company Custos, focusing on an array of technology and media enterprises.
On May 3, 2024, Ager-Hanssen received a ten-month prison sentence due to failure to comply with court directives. Later, on August 19, 2024, the UK High Court declared him bankrupt.
Early life
Born in Halden, Norway, Christen Ager-Hanssen is the son of industrialist and nuclear physicist Henrik Ager-Hanssen (1930–2004) and politician Bjørg Ager-Hanssen. His upbringing spanned Halden, Oslo, and Stavanger before relocating to Sweden. There, he gained professional experience working for IBM and Kinnevik in Stockholm.
Covert recording
In 2011, Ager-Hanssen was accused of witness interference and blackmail after secretly recording Tom Knudsen, Ugland’s lawyer, threatening to publish the tapes if his demands were unmet. Additionally, he allegedly intimidated Jan Erik Tønnessen, Ugland’s financial director, outside his residence, leading Tønnessen to contemplate involving law enforcement.
By 2014, Ager-Hanssen acknowledged placing a concealed recording device during a meeting with HQ Bank chairman Christer Sandberg.
In 2016, he secretly recorded filmmaker Fredrik von Krusenstjerna, disrupting a documentary project about HQ Bank by uploading the footage to YouTube.
In 2022, after arranging travel for lawyer Kyle Roche and his spouse to London, Ager-Hanssen covertly recorded Roche. These videos surfaced on the kompromat website Cryptoleaks. Roche claimed he was drugged during the encounter and had impaired memory of the event. Initially denying involvement and issuing threats toward Roche, Ager-Hanssen later admitted responsibility during a 2023 interview.
In 2023, he published secret recordings of nChain chairman Stefan Matthews.
Work with Black Cube
Ager-Hanssen states that he has collaborated with Black Cube, the controversial private intelligence firm, since its foundation while working under businessman Vincent Tchenguiz.
True Blue app
In April 2024, The Guardian revealed that Ager-Hanssen partnered with the UK's Conservative Party to create the True Blue app aimed at monetizing members' personal data. The application was designed to generate revenue shares for both the party and Ager-Hanssen’s company Addreax through brand partnerships he claimed to hold with firms such as Coca-Cola, British Gas, and ASOS (retailer). These companies denied any affiliation with him.
Numerous politicians criticized Ager-Hanssen for donating £70,000 to the Conservative Party, alleging that this facilitated private meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and then Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Shamalova Divorce
On January 2, 2024, Zhanna Shamalova, former spouse of Kirill Shamalov, initiated legal action against Ager-Hanssen. She claims to have paid his Custos Group £600,000 for services described as ‘Conflict Management and Litigation Strategy Advice,’ along with an extra £500,000 intended to secure legal counsel.
Court documents reveal that Shamalova transferred funds to Ager-Hanssen during the week she submitted her divorce petition, expecting him to trace her ex-husband’s assets. After nearly twelve months without progress reports, she reached out directly to the legal team and was informed that Ager-Hanssen had ceased his involvement shortly after the initial filing and terminated their agreement. Although he purportedly agreed to reimburse her in February 2023, no repayment was made. Consequently, she lodged a claim amounting to £1.1 million on January 2, 2024.
Norion Bank
In March 2025, Norion Bank filed a complaint with Swedish law enforcement accusing Ager-Hanssen of extortion and blackmail.
Business career
During the 1980s, Ager-Hanssen was employed by leading computer technology firms such as Burroughs, Digital Equipment Corporation, and IBM. By the early 1990s, he had established himself as a recognized speaker focusing on business process reengineering and legacy IT systems.
Investment AB Kinnevik
Ager-Hanssen previously held an executive role within the Kinnevik group and played a part in Tele2 AB’s global growth. He also co-founded multiple internet ventures under Kinnevik’s umbrella, including Netsys Technology Group, Webware, and Polarsearch—among Scandinavia’s pioneering search engines.
Stock trader
An active participant in the Swedish stock market, Ager-Hanssen has invested extensively in prominent blue chip companies. In 1999, he revealed that his earnings from stock trading surpassed the value of his investment portfolio, which was then estimated at SEK 1.7 billion.
Addreax
Established in 2019 by Ager-Hanssen, Addreax operates within the Marketing Technology (MarTech) sector and manages applications such as Stuk, Adviral, and CheSconto!.
In 2020, Adviral entered insolvency proceedings carrying debts of SEK 4.4 million related to influencer payments.
By December 2023, Addreax announced a collaboration with Corriere dello Sport.
In March 2024, Ager-Hanssen became involved in a dispute with influencers Matilda Djerf and Hanna Schönberg after reporting them to the Swedish Consumer Agency through Metro Mode, an Addreax-owned platform. The report cited breaches of EU influencer regulations. He emphasized the necessity of compliance with existing laws while leaving enforcement responsibilities to regulatory bodies.
nChain
Ager-Hanssen was appointed CEO of the nChain group in November 2022. On September 29, 2023, he declared his resignation due to conflicts with the board of directors. That same day, nChain confirmed his departure and named Stefan Matthews as his successor. The following day, nChain issued a statement alleging that Ager-Hanssen had engaged in serious misconduct warranting immediate termination.
On February 28, 2024, nChain submitted a bankruptcy petition against Ager-Hanssen. Subsequently, on May 3, 2024, he received a ten-month prison sentence for failing to comply with court orders requiring him to hand over data related to nChain and disclose its recipients. He withdrew from court hearings and disregarded further judicial directives. On May 25, 2024, he announced via Twitter that he had filed an appeal; however, by August 2024 no appeal had been officially registered with the court.
Collaboration with the National Pension Fund of Sweden
At the beginning of 1998, Ager-Hanssen, in collaboration with the National Pension Fund of Sweden, successfully took control of NetSys Technology Group, which included Webware and Polarsearch, holding a 60% stake through their joint venture. Following this acquisition, Kinnevik and other investors exited their positions. In June 1998, Ager-Hanssen launched a hostile cash offer amounting to SEK 120 million for Verimation AB, a publicly listed company. After taking it private, he merged its email services division, Memo—utilized by roughly 2.5 million users including major Fortune 500 corporations—into the joint venture. By the end of 1998, NetSys Technology Group’s valuation had surpassed USD 388 million.
Shortly before the collapse of the dot-com bubble in 2000, Ager-Hanssen sold his holdings in the joint venture, reinvesting the proceeds into new ventures. The National Pension Fund reportedly incurred losses exceeding SEK 350 million on this investment and faced criticism from Swedish media regarding its handling of the transaction.
Cognition
In 1998, Ager-Hanssen established Cognition, a venture capital firm dedicated to overseeing his Internet-focused investments. He brought on board prominent individuals such as Ulf Sundqvist, former Finnish trade minister, and Gillian Nott, previously a director at the Financial Services Authority. Ron Sandler, ex-CEO of Lloyd's of London and NatWest executive, took on the role of non-executive chairman.
Ager-Hanssen stated that HSBC had valued Cognition at approximately GBP 1 billion in early 2000 and that there were intentions to list the company on the London Stock Exchange. Despite this, financial difficulties emerged, including unpaid wages to employees. Norwegian investor Hakon Korsgaard invested with the expectation of an IPO that ultimately never materialized; Cognition soon went into bankruptcy. Subsequently, legal conflicts arose between Ager-Hanssen and Korsgaard concerning unsettled financial obligations.
Dot-com bubble
Media outlets across Scandinavia, the United States, and the United Kingdom frequently depicted Ager-Hanssen as a leading figure emblematic of the dot-com bubble era.
Metro Media House
In February 2017, Ager-Hanssen’s investment firm Custos took ownership of Metro, Sweden’s free newspaper originally launched by Kinnevik AB. Since its inception in 1995, Metro had been a trailblazer in disrupting traditional media and held the largest circulation in Sweden at that time. The company expanded its portfolio into areas such as music, fashion, recruitment services, health sectors, esports, and loyalty programs. Upon acquiring Metro, Ager-Hanssen highlighted its disruptive market approach as being well aligned with Custos’s broader media strategy.
By 2019, Metro’s publisher dismissed all journalists and revealed plans to transform the platform into a paid forum for opinion pieces and debates. Ager-Hanssen suggested charging contributors fees ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 SEK (£369–£36,900) for publishing content, remarking: "Why pay journalists when you can earn by publishing content."
The company sought corporate restructuring initially approved by Stockholm District Court; however, this was later overturned by its principal creditor—the Swedish Tax Agency. Ultimately, Metro was declared bankrupt in February 2020.
Involvement with Johnston Press
Norwegian entrepreneur Christen Ager-Hanssen, proprietor of the investment company Custos, emerged as a prominent player in the British newspaper sector through his involvement with Johnston Press during the mid-2010s. His engagement encompassed strategic share acquisitions, public confrontations, and litigation efforts aimed at transforming the company’s governance and operational approach.
In 2017, Ager-Hanssen, via Custos, secured a substantial equity position in Johnston Press, positioning himself among the principal shareholders. By October of that year, he openly proposed a reconfiguration of the board, putting forward former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond as a candidate for chairman. His plan centered on redefining Johnston Press’s business framework by prioritizing digital platforms and capitalizing on its readership to initiate new business lines.
Financial and legal barriers
Ager-Hanssen’s initiatives encountered resistance due to a 'dead hand proxy' provision—a corporate safeguard mandating immediate repayment of Johnston Press’s outstanding debt if there was a shift in board control. Despite this constraint, he publicly condemned the clause and remained resolute in advancing his strategic objectives.
JPIMedia takeover and subsequent developments
Although holding a significant stake, Ager-Hanssen was unable to stop Johnston Press from entering administration and being acquired by JPIMedia in November 2018. He openly criticized the transaction process and declared intentions to pursue legal recourse against the new management. His role was characterized by a combative stance and ongoing criticism of executive decisions. Nevertheless, Ager-Hanssen had a notable impact on the company’s strategic direction during this pivotal restructuring period.
Aviation and leisure sector
In 2005, Ager-Hanssen partnered with John Robert Porter to invest in the airline and travel market by taking control of FlyMe Europe AB (FLY-B.SK), a publicly traded low-cost carrier based in Gothenburg that was nearing bankruptcy. FlyMe aimed to establish itself as a major contender within Europe’s budget airline industry.
FlyMe Europe development
The duo sought to position FlyMe Europe as a top European low-cost airline by involving Icelandic billionaire Palmi Haraldsson, who held significant ownership in Sterling European Airlines and Maersk Air. Haraldsson acquired a strategic stake in FlyMe Europe, which subsequently raised SEK 272 million after securing majority ownership to fund international growth and sector consolidation.
Consolidation efforts among budget airlines
Towards the end of 2005, Haraldsson divested his holdings in Sterling Airlines (formed from the merger of Sterling European Airlines and Maersk) to the FL Group for DKK 1.5 billion. The FL Group, led by Hannes Smárason, maintained major investments in EasyJet and American Airlines. Ager-Hanssen and Haraldsson engaged with Smárason and Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson of Baugur regarding plans for Sterling Airlines to undertake a reverse takeover valued at DKK 2 billion. However, following due diligence in mid-2006, FlyMe’s board opted against proceeding with the acquisition of Sterling.
This decision disrupted takeover ambitions held by Haraldsson and Smárason and terminated FlyMe’s collaboration with Haraldsson. In September 2006, Ager-Hanssen and Porter purchased Haraldsson’s shares in FlyMe Europe, sparking intensified competition between the airlines without any decisive outcome.
FlyMe announced a SEK 194 million share offering supported by Cognition Ventures’ commitment to guarantee SEK 130 million; however, Swedish media raised concerns about the firm’s financial stability. By February 28, 2007, the annual report release was postponed amid doubts regarding capital injections. Cognition Ventures failed to fulfill its funding guarantee, prompting the board to withhold approval of the financial statements and ultimately leading FlyMe into insolvency. Board chairman Thommy Nillsson attributed the failure primarily to Cognition’s inability to provide the pledged capital.
Global Supply Systems
Ager-Hanssen and Porter maintained majority ownership of the British cargo airline Global Supply Systems (GSS), established in 2001 as a dedicated all-freight carrier offering aircraft under long-term ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) leasing agreements. GSS was formed as a partnership with Atlas Air Worldwide, which holds the largest modern Boeing 747 freighter fleet globally and possessed a 49% share in GSS. In 2007, GSS secured a significant five-year agreement with British Airways (BA), representing BA's largest freighter investment to date, with operational expenses surpassing USD 1 billion. Control of 51% of GSS was exercised by Porter and Ager-Hanssen through Riverdon Ltd.
During the same year, FlyMe acquired a strategic minority interest in GSS with ambitions to launch affordable long-haul services from Scandinavia to destinations including the United States and Thailand. The ownership of GSS was relinquished in 2009.
Ticket
Expanding their portfolio within the leisure sector, Ager-Hanssen and Porter took a strategic position in Ticket, a leading Scandinavian travel agency that was publicly traded. They executed a hostile acquisition to restructure the board but exited their investment in 2008.
Telecom & Technology Industry
Ager-Hanssen made notable investments in telecommunications, including an early stake in Glocalnet, which is currently part of Telenor. His company Cognition contributed SEK 50 million as part of an SEK 80 million funding round alongside Brummer & Partner and Nomura Holdings. Subsequently, Ager-Hanssen divested his Glocalnet shares to Inter-Ikea.
Additional telecom interests encompassed holdings in Utfors, a broadband service provider later acquired by Telenor, as well as investments in Tele2 and Millicom.
Oil Industry
In 2005, Ager-Hanssen partnered with John Robert Porter to invest in Nordic Oil, chaired by former Statoil CEO Arve Johnsen. The firm aimed for growth across upstream and downstream operations, managing 105 fuel stations throughout Sweden along with a lubricant retail network across Scandinavia. In 2006, Nordic Oil entered into an agreement with the Hinduja Group to reintroduce the Gulf brand within Scandinavia and planned a comprehensive rebranding of its stations. However, this partnership dissolved due to payment disagreements involving Cognition concerning the fuel station assets.
By July 2007, following a mandatory dissolution notice, chairman Johnsen, auditor Sven Erga, and half of the board members resigned. Later that year, Nordic Oil was declared bankrupt.
Business partners
Ager-Hanssen works closely with influential figures such as John Robert Porter, whose fortune originated from founding Demon Internet—the United Kingdom’s first internet service provider—and from the sale of Verifone to Hewlett Packard in 1997. Since the late 1990s, Ager-Hanssen and Porter have engaged in numerous collaborative ventures.