Litorina sells Sveba Dahlen Group to Middleby Corporation

Litorina has sold its holding in Sveba Dahlen, the leading manufacturer of high-quality ovens and baking equipment in Northern Europe. The buyer is Middleby, a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry.

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Sveba Dahlen was founded in 1948 and has a market leading position within professional high-quality ovens and baking equipment in Northern Europe. The company sells its products under three premium brands, Sveba Dahlen, Glimek and Bear, through own sales organizations in its home markets and globally through an extensive network of distributors. Over the years, Sveba Dahlen has grown through international expansion, increased focus on key customer segments as well as continuous strengthening of its product portfolio.

Litorina became the new majority shareholder in Sveba Dahlen at the end of 2011, to support the Eliasson family in the continued expansion of the group. Since 2012, the company has shown a steady organic revenue growth and the EBITDA margin has increased to double digits following the new production set-up and improved supply chain.

“We invested in Sveba Dahlen, an entrepreneurially run business with a long heritage of high-quality products and well-known, premium brands with significant improvement potential. We saw the opportunity to add resources and strengthen the management team and the organization to focus marketing and sales efforts on key regions and customer segments, improve the production set-up and supply chain as well as invest in product development.” says Ann Dahlman, Partner at Litorina Capital Advisors AB, investment advisor to Litorina. “We are impressed by the management team’s dedication and ability to deliver on their plan and are pleased to see the strong development with more than 50% EBITDA increase during our holding period”.

“It has been an exciting journey with Litorina, being an active and engaged owner, who has provided valuable support during these years. I believe Middleby, as the new owner, will be able to support Sveba Dahlen in an excellent way, in particular with the continued international expansion and product innovation”, says Peter Larsson, CEO of Sveba Dahlen.

For further information, please contact:

Ann Dahlman, +46 709 22 66 19, Partner, Litorina Capital Advisors
AB Peter Larsson, +46 730 52 27 00, CEO, Sveba Dahlen Group

Sveba Dahlen, founded in 1948, is the leading manufacturer of high-quality ovens and baking equipment in Northern Europe. The company sells its products under three premium brands, Sveba Dahlen, Glimek and Bear, through own sales organizations in its home markets and globally through an extensive network of distributors. Sveba Dahlen is headquartered in Fristad, Sweden, and has production facilities in Sweden, Denmark and Estonia. The group has annual sales of c. SEK 530 million and c. 290 employees. For more information, please visit www.sveba-dahlen.com.

Litorina, founded in 1998, focuses on acquiring and industrially developing companies together with their management teams. Litorina offers broad and deep expertise both via its own organization and through its network of industrial advisors. Litorina Capital Advisors AB serves as an investment advisor to Litorina’s funds. Litorina is backed by a number reputable institutions that have jointly invested approximately SEK 4.8 billion in Litorina’s four funds. For more information, please visit www.litorina.se.

Middleby, founded in 1888, is a worldwide leading manufacturer of bakery and commercial kitchen equipment, residential appliances and systems for industrial processing, packaging and baking. With more than 50 premium brands between the three business segments, Middleby develops, manufactures, distributes and sells its products worldwide. Middleby is headquartered in Elgin, Illinois (US), and has revenues of c. USD 2.3 billion. For more information, please visit www.middleby.com.