Significant Control Over BioNTech By Private Equity Firms Implies That The General Public Has More Power To Influence Management And Governance-Related Decisions
The ownership structure of BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) reveals a significant concentration of power in the hands of private equity firms, which hold around 43% of the company’s shares. This implies that the general public has more influence over management and governance-related decisions.
Who Really Controls BioNTech?
To understand who really controls BioNTech, we need to examine its share registry. The group with the most number of shares in the company is private equity firms, which stand to gain or lose the most from their investment. While private equity firms benefited the most from last week’s US$1.8b market cap gain, institutions also had a 20% share in those profits.
Ownership Breakdown
Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of BioNTech, beginning with the chart below.
NasdaqGS:BNTX Ownership Breakdown January 7th 2025
| Owner Type | Percentage |
| — | — |
| Private Equity Firms | 43% |
| Institutions | 20% |
| Insiders | 18% |
| General Public | 19% |
Institutional Ownership
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. As such, they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
NasdaqGS:BNTX Earnings and Revenue Growth January 7th 2025
| Metric | Value |
| — | — |
| Revenue Growth | 30% |
| Net Income Growth | 25% |
We note that hedge funds do not have a meaningful investment in BioNTech. The largest shareholder is AT Impf GmbH with 43% of shares outstanding, followed by Ugur Sahin and Baillie Gifford & Co. with 17% and 3.5% of the shares outstanding respectively.
Top 2 Shareholders
| Owner | Percentage |
| — | — |
| AT Impf GmbH | 43% |
| Ugur Sahin | 17% |
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understanding of a stock’s expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of BioNTech
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership thinking like true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company, which can be negative in some circumstances.
Insider Ownership Breakdown
| Owner | Percentage |
| — | — |
| Ugur Sahin | 17% |
| Baillie Gifford & Co. | 3.5% |
Insiders own a significant proportion of BioNTech SE, with US$5.1b worth of shares in their own names. This shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 19% stake in BioNTech. While considerable, this size of ownership may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 43% stake in BioNTech, which implies that they have significant influence over management and governance-related decisions.
Private Equity Firms Breakdown
| Owner | Percentage |
| — | — |
| AT Impf GmbH | 43% |
Conclusion
Many find it useful to take an in-depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue, and cash flow.
However, ultimately, it is the future that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore, we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full-year annual report figures.
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Disclaimer: This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology, and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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