Billionaire made "impulse buy"

I had never believed that there would be such a heated bidding war when we started. It really got intense at the end, but it is still for a good cause. That is the most important thing. The new owner, Knut Ugland, tells NRK. He threw his weight around and paid 1.3 million Norwegian kroner for the instrument that has a special place in the Norwegian soul. Ugland is from Grimstad and is the owner and chairman of the shipping company with the same name. The company's income for 2025 was nearly 3.8 billion kroner – that was an increase of over 70 percent, according to Finansavisen. – It was a snap purchase. I was excited to get hold of a piece of Norwegian history. I haven't really thought through what I feel about the drum, but I think it will be a lot of fun to own it, says Ugland. When NRK turns on the thread, it has been less than 12 hours since he made the bid that broke all the records in the TV action. The drum already has a historic buzz around it: Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, and King Haakon have all struck it. Now Ugland is celebrating the purchase with a trip into the forest to cut trees. – I am not very interested in art. Those who are interested in art, for example, buy a Munch painting, but this is my kind of art, he says. Tips wanted The previous bid record in the TV action was in 2019. Then the company HitecVision paid 550,000 kroner for a radio broadcast with Radio Norge's "Morgenklubben". Since the purchase was made on a snap basis, he has not yet decided where the drum should end up – but he has an idea. – It might be displayed or loaned to someone. Now we need to spend some time finding out where it will be most useful, says Ugland. He makes an appeal to NRK: Håkon Stensvand and Torstein Hamran from the Grimstad area have been active singers and drummers for Oljeberget during the World Cup. They will come up with the first suggestions for where the drum should be placed. – Do you have any tips to give? asks NRK Stensvand. – The drum is very well woven into Norwegian World Cup and football history. If it were displayed at Ullevaal or in the football museum, it would be cool for people to see something. It cannot end up in a warehouse or with Knut in Grimstad, says Stensvand, who among others started rowing at Slottplassen in the summer. FIFA got in touch A total of 277 bids were received. The TV action collected 251 million kroner. Among the bidders for the World Cup drum were also people from abroad. Stensvand tells NRK that among others, FIFA has shown interest in the drum. They contacted Oljeberget and wanted to get it into their museum in Zurich. The message from Stensvand was supposed to be crystal clear: Now it is up for grabs for everyone else. – The fact that the drum was sold for such a sum does not surprise me at all. It makes me very proud to see that the same drum that created great engagement and unity during the football World Cup becomes a significant contribution to an important cause, says Knut Petter Gisholt, who works in the Auction. This was the ninth year in a row that they have collaborated with the TV action on a volunteer basis. – Do you think it will be possible to sell an object for a higher sum one day? – For the TV Action auctions, I think you have to dig deep to find an object that attracts so much. You can get objects with a higher economic value, I think this sum will be difficult to beat, says Gisholt. Time to try hitting the drum During the auction, no one was allowed to hit the drum. Now Ugland reveals that he has to strike it a couple of times before it can possibly go into a glass case or something similar. – I have to test it. There are two sides to the drum, so I can hit the side that the players have not signed on to, says Ugland. The money from the TV action will be transferred during Monday. After this, the drum is sent south – and the new owner has agreed to a couple of strikes from Oljeberget. – He has paid enough to be allowed to strike a couple of times, I think, says Stensvand in Oljeberget.