Volati divests Besikta Bilprovning with an estimated capital gain of SEK 750 million
Volati has signed an agreement to sell all shares in Besikta Bilprovning i Sverige Holding AB (“Besikta Bilprovning”) to Applus+. The transaction is taking place at an estimated enterprise value of approximately SEK 1,050 million and is expected to generate a capital gain of SEK 750 million for Volati. The transaction is proof of Volati’s ability to create long-term value growth through acquisitions and active business development.
Since its acquisition by Volati in 2013, Besikta Bilprovning has developed into one of the leading vehicle inspection companies in Sweden, and among other things has the country’s largest station network, consisting of 185 inspection stations in 152 locations. In 2019, Besikta Bilprovning had sales of SEK 618 million and EBITA of SEK 82 million.
“We would like to thank the management and all employees of Besikta, who joined us in building one of the best vehicle inspection companies in Sweden. The acquisition of Besikta was, in many ways, a typical Volati acquisition. It was a complex transaction and a special situation, as the business lacked company management, a brand and IT systems. We were convinced that we could manage these risks within the framework of our proven model for corporate governance and business development. The station network has now tripled in size and Besikta has one of the industry’s strongest brands and customer offerings, with very good profitability. These qualities are reflected in the sale price, making it an attractive transaction for Volati,” says Volati CEO Mårten Andersson.
The transaction significantly strengthens Volati’s financial position. It creates additional opportunities for Volati to continue to develop the company at a rapid pace, both through add-on investments in existing operations and new platform acquisitions.
Applus+ is one of the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification companies, with approximately 23,000 employees and operations in over 70 countries. Applus+ is headquartered in Spain and is listed on the Spanish stock exchange.
“We are pleased that Besikta is getting an excellent industrial owner in Applus+. They have the international industry experience, technical competence and financial capacity to create good conditions for Besikta to continue to develop as a company,” says Mårten Andersson.
The transaction will take place at a purchase consideration of approximately SEK 840 million for the shares and an estimated enterprise value of approximately SEK 1,050 million. The total liquidity effect for Volati, including repayment of internal loans, is approximately SEK 1,040 million. The purchase consideration will be settled in cash. The transaction is expected to generate a capital gain of SEK 750 million for Volati during the fourth quarter of 2020. The transaction is conditional on Swedac (the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment), which is the supervisory body for accreditation to conduct inspection operations, confirming that the change of ownership does not affect Besikta Bilprovning’s accreditation. Completion will take place after receiving such confirmation from Swedac, which is expected to be in November 2020.
Access Partners has acted as financial advisor and Gernandt & Danielsson Advokatbyrå has acted as legal advisor to Volati in connection with the transaction.
Conference call
Volati Mårten Andersson and CFO Andreas Stenbäck will present the transaction and answer questions in a conference call at: 11.00 on Wednesday 21 October. The presentation will be conducted in Swedish.
Phone number to access the conference: +46 8 505 583 57
For a webcast of the conference call, go to:
https://tv.streamfabriken.com/2020-10-21-press-conference
This information is information that Volati AB (publ) 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 below, at 18:00 CET on 20 October 2020.
For further information, please contact:
Mårten Andersson, CEO Volati AB, +46 72 735 42 84, marten.andersson@volati.se
Andreas Stenbäck, CFO Volati AB, +46 70 889 09 60, andreas.stenback@volati.se
Volati AB (publ)
Engelbrektsplan 1, SE-114 34 Stockholm
Tel: +46 8 21 68 40
Email: info@volati.se
Corp.reg.no.: 556555-4317
About Volati
Volati is a Swedish industrial group, formed in 2003, organised in four business areas: Trading, Consumer, Akademibokhandeln and Industry. Volati mainly acquires reasonably valued companies with proven business models, leading market positions and strong cash flows and develops them with a focus on long-term value creation. The strategy is to build on the companies’ identity and entrepreneurial spirit, adding leadership, expertise, processes and financial resources. Volati has operations in 16 countries, over 2,000 employees and annual sales of approximately SEK 7 billion. Volati’s ordinary shares and preference shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. Further information is available at www.volati.se.