Ratos has signed an agreement to acquire 70% of the consulting company Knightec, thereby entering into a partnership with co-founder and CEO Dimitris Gioulekas. Over the past 12 months, Knightec had sales of SEK 941m, with adjusted EBITA of SEK 140m. The cash-free, debt-free purchase price for 100% of the company (enterprise value) amounts to SEK 1,625m, corresponding to a multiple of 11.6 (EV/EBITA).

Knightec was founded in 2003 and has experienced strong growth ever since, mainly generated organically but also through strategic acquisitions. The company stands out thanks to its rapid rate of change and industry-leading profitability. Through its unique customer offerings and strong community involvement, Knightec has established a strong market position in technology, design and digitalisation of products and services.

“I am impressed by Knightec’s development in recent years, and Ratos is proud to have been entrusted to enter into a partnership with CEO and co-founder Dimitris Gioulekas and thereby contribute to the company’s continued growth. Knightec currently holds a strong position in the market and is an excellent start to our focus on this sector, which will be an important area for Ratos going forward. Through this acquisition, we will gain exposure to the growing consultancy industry, where we already have solid experience,” says Jonas Wiström, President and CEO, Ratos.

“Knightec will remain a driving force in the digital transformation towards sustainable products and services. Our ability to establish partnerships with key customers and partners has been crucial to our success. This partnership with Ratos will create excellent opportunities to continue investing in new areas in order to strengthen our market position and continue to deliver industry-leading growth and profitability,” says Dimitris Gioulekas, co-founder and CEO, Knightec.

With over 800 employees across Sweden, Knightec specialises in advanced projects that straddle technology, design and digitalisation. Its customers include large corporations with a leading position in various sectors, such as automotive, pharmaceutical, medical technology, finance, telecom, media and security.

Financing and impact on Ratos
The acquisition was financed with Ratos’s own funds and bank financing. For the Ratos Group, the acquisition corresponds to a pro forma increase in sales of just over 4% and an increase of 7% in adjusted EBITA for LTM May 2022. The Ratos Group’s leverage in April 2022 amounted to 0.8x EBITDA and will increase pro forma to 1.4x EBITDA. The CEO and other key employees of Knightec will make a reinvestment in conjunction with the transaction, with their holding amounting to approximately 30% of the shares in the company. After a certain period of time and at the earliest in full after five years, both these key employees and Ratos have a customary right to demand that Ratos acquire the shares at market value.

The acquisition of Knightec is conditional on customary competition clearance.

Press briefing
Representatives of the media are welcome to a press briefing at 09.45 a.m. CEST at Ratos’s office, Sturegatan 10 in Stockholm. Participants will be Jonas Wiström, President and CEO at Ratos and Dimitris Gioulekas, CEO at Knightec. It is also possible to participate digitally via Teams. Mandatory registration, contact VP communication Josefine Uppling, +46 76 114 54 21 or e-mail josefine.uppling@ratos.com.

For further information and media contact:
Jonas Wiström, President and CEO, Ratos, +46 76 114 54 21
Dimitris Gioulekas, CEO, Knightec, +46 70 569 96 88
Josefine Uppling, VP Communication, Ratos, +46 76 114 54 21

This is information that Ratos AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 07:00 a.m. CEST on 16 June 2022.

About Ratos
Ratos is a business group consisting of 14 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer and Industry. In total 2021, the companies have approximately SEK 25 billion in net sales. Our business concept is to own and develop companies that are or can become market leaders. We have a distinct corporate culture and strategy – everything we do is based on our core values: Simplicity, Speed in execution and It’s All About People. We enable independent companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas.

Nordic Capital has sold its majority shareholding of the multinational maintenance service provider Quant AB (publ) (“Quant”) after supporting the company through an extensive transformation as an active and responsible owner for a period of six years. Permira Credit is now Quant’s majority shareholder as the company enters the next phase of its journey.

Nordic Capital Fund VIII acquired Quant, formerly known as ABB Full Service, as a carve-out from the ABB Group in 2014. This marked the start of an extensive transformation process and creation of a strong independent company within industrial maintenance under the name Quant. During Nordic Capital’s six years of ownership, Quant has sharpened its geographical focus, streamlined its organisation, and developed a multinational contract portfolio that is growing. Today, Quant is a leading service provider in industrial maintenance, maintaining and improving of safety, production and equipment performance around the world.

Quant is now ready to enter the next phase of its development and to continue to deliver on its strategy. Following today’s completion of the sale, Permira Credit is Quant’s new majority shareholder, and Nordic Capital will remain as a minority shareholder.

The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Press contact:

Nordic Capital
Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: 08-440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

About Quant

Quant is a leading multinational maintenance service provider, maintaining and improving the safety, production and equipment performance for over 400 facilities around the world. The company offers maintenance services within a wide range of industries, including pulp and paper, mining and minerals, chemicals, food and beverages. The core of Quant’s value proposition consists of improving safety, creating organizational equity, driving plant performance, and cost alignment. The approach is to view the maintenance function as a profit contributor, and not as a cost center, with Quant as the partner driving this transformation. Quant has more than three decades of experience, 2 400 employees and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

About Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and selectively, Industrial & Business Services. Key regions are Europe and globally for Healthcare and Technology & Payments investments. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 20 billion in over 125 investments. The most recent entities are Nordic Capital X with EUR 6.1 billion in committed capital and Nordic Capital Evolution with EUR 1.2 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, the UK, the US, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway and South Korea. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

About Permira
Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with total assets under management of €60bn+ and makes long-term majority and minority investments across two core asset classes, private equity and credit.
Permira Credit is one of Europe’s leading specialist credit investors, supporting businesses with flexible financing solutions across Direct Lending, CLO Management and Structured Credit. Established in 2007, the firm advises investment funds and products which have provided more than €14bn of debt capital to over 300 European businesses.
Permira employs over 450 people in 16 offices across Europe, the United States and Asia. For more information, visit www.permira.com.

• ProGlove set to commence major software initiative and increase its market presence in new and existing geographies
• New ownership will support ProGlove’s ambitious growth strategy with a focus on innovation and new applications

Topic: Investment

Gimv acquires an interest of approximately 30% in Picot, which was born out of the French market leader Dirickx and is expanding in France and other regions in Europe. With Gimv joining alongside the current shareholders and management, the strategy of internal growth and acquisitions will be continued with a view to building market leadership in Europe.

Picot (Congrier – Fr, www.dirickx.fr) produces fencing and gates, distributes its products through various channels to the private and corporate markets, and is also active in the installation of fencing solutions. In the French market, Picot is the market leader and has several production units; internationally, the group has branches mainly in Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands and Italy. At the end of 2021, Picot had a turnover of EUR 212m and employed 926 people.

The renewed strategy around French Dirickx was set in motion in 2017 with the acquisition of the company by Robur Capital together with co-investor Telesco. The company has now doubled in size by broadening its product range, tapping new geographical markets and making a whole series of selective acquisitions. With the entry of Gimv, Picot wishes to continue and strengthen this strategy in France and in several European countries.

Wim Deblauwe, CEO of Picot, says: “Since 2017 Picot group has grown from a strong player mainly in France to a European position, through a sophisticated strategy of product innovation, customer focus and targeted acquisitions. We are ready to push through to the position of European market leader and are extremely pleased to find a partner in Gimv who endorses our industrial vision and can help us with the further expansion of Picot.”

Eric de La Vigne, Principal Smart Industries, comments: “Picot is a model of industrial dynamism that we are thrilled to accompany. As a minority investor, we are perfectly in line with the path mapped out by the existing shareholders and are strengthening the foundation with them and the management in particular.”

Tom Van de Voorde, Managing Partner of Smart Industries team, added: “The industrial and technical knowledge, together with the customer focus of the entire company, drives the Picot group forward and shows that industrial companies with the right vision have a bright future. In addition, the will to continue the roll-up in the sector, supported by a stronger capital base, makes the growth potential of this investment very attractive.”

This new investment becomes part of Gimv’s Smart Industries platform, aimed at companies providing B2B products and services, based on value creation through engineering and technology.

Read the full document

English – French – Dutch

Nordstjernan has made a commitment to invest in the industrial company engcon. engcon is the world’s leading manufacturer of tiltrotators with a global market share of approximately 45 percent. The company was founded in 1990 with the ambition to change the world of digging through product innovation and focus on end-users. engcon develops innovative value-creating and sustainable solutions that contribute to increased resource efficiency, safety and profitability.

During the 12-month period ended March 31, 2022, engcon’s revenues amounted to SEK 1,571 million and adjusted operating profit to SEK 351 million, corresponding to an adjusted operating margin of 22.3 percent.

Nordstjernan’s investment amounts to approximately SEK 350 million, corresponding to 5 percent of the company’s shares, and will be carried out in connection with the listing of engcon on Nasdaq Stockholm.

“I am excited that Nordstjernan, as a long-term actor, has chosen to invest in engcon in connection with the listing and look forward to continue to develop the company with their support,” says Stig Engström, founder and main owner of engcon.

“Nordstjernan have been following engcon for a long time and are now very pleased to invest in the company in connection with its listing. Within our Industry sector, Nordstjernan’s strategy is to invest in well-managed industrial companies with long-term global growth potential. We can see that engcon fits in very well with this and look forward to supporting the company over the long term,” says Nordstjernan’s CEO Peter Hofvenstam.

Peter Hofvenstam
President and CEO
Nordstjernan AB

Questions will be answered by:

Peter Hofvenstam, CEO, Nordstjernan
E-mail: peter.hofvenstam@nordstjernan.se

Stefan Stern, Head of Communications, Nordstjernan
Telephone: +46 70 636 74 17
E-mail: stefan.stern@nordstjernan.se

Nordstjernan is a family-controlled investment company whose business concept is to be an active owner that creates long-term value growth. More information about Nordstjernan can be found on www.nordstjernan.se.