This information is disclosed in accordance with the Securities Markets Act, the
Financial Instruments Trading Act or demands made in the exchange rules.
Ratos has signed an agreement to acquire approximately 67% of the shares in the
Finnish LED optics company Ledil Oy from the company's founders. The purchase
price (enterprise value) for 100% of the company amounts to EUR 97m, of which
Ratos will provide equity of approximately EUR 50m.
Ledil is a leading global player in secondary optics (lenses which focus light
from a source to achieve a desired lighting solution) for LED lighting. The
company started in 2002 and is owned today by the two founders and Ledil's CEO.
Ratos is acquiring approximately 67% of the company and the founders and other
key people will own approximately 33%.
The company has a broad portfolio of proprietary products sold through its own
sales force as well as through agents and distributors in Europe, North America
and Asia. Production is carried out by sub-contractors in China and Finland.
Today, the products are mainly used in environments with high demands on
lighting performance and are found exclusively in commercial applications such
as retail stores, offices and street lighting.
LED is the fastest-growing lighting technology where development is driven by
lower energy consumption and longer useful life combined with customers' growing
environmental awareness and stricter regulation in the EU and China. In the
split financial year 2013/2014, Ledil's sales totalled EUR 24.5m with an
operating profit (EBITA) of EUR 7.1m. Since 2009/2010, Ledil has had an average
organic growth of 40% per annum with good profitability. The company currently
has approximately 70 employees.
Ratos's CEO, Susanna Campbell, comments: "Ledil is a fast-growing, profitable
and innovation-focused company that has created a strong market position within
its niche in just a few years. The company's opportunities for continued growth
within several product areas and geographies, combined with the underlying
growing demand for energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and high-quality
LED lighting, mean that we see Ledil as a very exciting investment. The
experience and innovative powers of its founders, combined with our experience
of supporting companies in growth phases and further develop organisations,
create exciting opportunities for us to take the company to the next level."
Tomi Kuntze, one of the founders of Ledil, comments: "Together with Ratos we are
now taking the next step in Ledil's development. With Ratos as co-owner we will
strengthen our opportunities for continued growth. This will create development
possibilities for our employees and allow us to serve our customers even better.
We have always strived to be at the forefront of technological development and
we look forward to continuing our involvement in product development and further
expanding our product portfolio so that Ledil can become even bigger and even
more competitive."
Ratos is acquiring approximately 67% of Ledil. The purchase price (enterprise
value) for 100% amounts to EUR 97m. Based on estimated net debt at completion of
the deal Ratos is expected to provide equity of approximately EUR 50m. The
amount of Ratos's investment will be affected by cash flow until completion of
the acquisition. The acquisition is subject to approval from the relevant
authorities and is expected to be completed around year-end.
For further information, please contact:
Susanna Campbell, CEO, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 00
Emma Rheborg, Head of Corporate Communications & IR, Ratos, +46 8 700 17 20
Financial calendar from Ratos:
Year-end report 2014 19 February 2015
Annual General Meeting 2015 16 April 2015
Ratos is a private equity conglomerate. The company's mission is to maximise
shareholder value over time through the professional, active and responsible
exercise of its ownership role in primarily medium to large unlisted Nordic
companies. Ratos's holdings include AH Industries, Aibel, Arcus-Gruppen, Biolin
Scientific, Bisnode, DIAB, Euromaint, GS-Hydro, Hafa Bathroom Group, HENT, HL
Display, Inwido, Jøtul, KVD, Mobile Climate Control, Nebula and Nordic Cinema
Group. Ratos is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and market capitalisation amounts to
approximately SEK 17 billion.
