Sweden's Ikea says brand valued at $13.8 billion

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish furniture giant Ikea said on Thursday it had sold its trademark to one of its own subsidiaries for nine billion euros (S$13.8 billion), the first time the company has put a book value on the brand.

Ikea, which has a complex ownership structure, said its Liechtenstein-based Interogo Foundation had sold the brand name to subsidiary Inter Ikea Systems on Jan 1, 2012.

The transaction was aimed at "consolidating and simplifying the group's structure," Inter Ikea Group's head of communications Anders Bylund told AFP.

The move was "an internal transaction, which has no external effects" but the trademark "now has a book value," he said.