Latour acquires Hellberg Safety AB
Investment AB Latour has, through its subsidiary Hultafors Group AB, signed an agreement to acquire Hellberg Safety AB (“Hellberg”) based in Stenkullen, Sweden. Closing will take place with immediate effect.
Hellberg is a specialized supplier of hearing protection, face protection and communication solutions for personal protection purposes. Founded in Sweden in 1962 the company has grown to now have presence in 50 markets with its own R&D, production, assembly and warehouse operations at the headquarters in Stenkullen. Net sales amounted to SEK 66 m in 2017 with a profitability well in line with Latour’s financial targets. The company has around 20 employees.
The acquisition is part of Hultafors Group's strategy to broaden its portfolio within the PPE area. Through the acquisition Hultafors Group will gain access to a complete portfolio of highly advanced hearing protection products as well direct customer relationships with some well recognized blue-chip companies.
“We are thrilled about this acquisition as we think Hellberg will be a perfect match for Hultafors Group in fulfilling our ambitions within the PPE-area and we see a lot of opportunities going forward when combining the Hellberg portfolio with the Hultafors Group sales network” says Ole Kristian Jødahl, CEO at Hultafors Group AB.
“Hultafors Group is a company which we have known for quite some time and we believe that Hultafors Group’s existing customer relations and network in many countries will serve as an excellent foundation in taking the current business of Hellberg to the next level”, say Joakim Ohlander and Colin MacKenzie, previous owners of Hellberg.
As an effect of the acquisition the net debt of Investment AB Latour is expected to increase to around SEK 4.5 billion compared to the net debt level at the end of March 2018 as communicated in the Interim report January - March 2018.
Göteborg, July 6, 2018
INVESTMENT AB LATOUR (PUBL)
Jan Svensson
President and CEO
For further information, please contact:
Ole Kristian Jødahl, CEO Hultafors Group AB, +47 900 88 305
Jens Eriksson, Director, M&A and Strategy Hultafors Group AB, +46 702 114 601
Hultafors Group offers a dynamic range of premium brands to rely on – for distributors and craftsmen alike. Through its various brands Hultafors Group is represented in 40 countries and has over 11,000 point of sales. Hultafors Group has 700 employees and an annual turnover of about SEK 1.9 billion.
Investment AB Latour is a mixed investment company consisting primarily of a wholly-owned industrial operations and an investment portfolio of listing holdings in which Latour is the principal owner or one of the principal owners. The investment portfolio consists of ten substantial holdings with a market value of about SEK 50 billion. The wholly-owned industrial operations has an annual turnover of about SEK 10 billion.