17 Apr 12
Grolls acquires the Norwegian group Univern. Univern is one of Norway’s leading providers of work wear (own brand) and personal protection equipment. The acquisition takes the revenues of the Grolls group from ca SEK 650m to closer to SEK 900m.
The acquisition is in line with the strategic plan for expansion established by Litorina together with Grolls’ management in 2011.
Univern has 11 stores and some 100 resellers throughout Norway. Revenues amount to ca SEK 230m. Univern’s current management will remain with the business and the main owners (the CEO and the Sales Manager of Univern) will also be shareholders in Grolls.
- "Univern is the largest company in its category in Norway and it has a similar business model to Grolls. Through the acquisition, Grolls will be the leading specialized store chain within work wear and personal protection equipment in the Nordics, with 42 specialized stores in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia”, says Hans Janzon, Grolls CEO.
- "Being the owner and developer of the strong Swedish brand Björnkläder, Grolls is an ideal owner of Univern and together we are well poised for further growth in Norway”, says Dag Olavson, CEO of Univern.
For further information, please contact:
Hans Janzon, CEO Grolls, tel: +46-(0)730-56 55 00, e-mail: hans.janzon@grolls.se
Lars Verneholt, Partner Litorina, tel: +46-(0)8-545 181 80, e-mail: lars.verneholt@litorina.se
Grolls is based in Gothenburg and was founded in 1905. Today, Grolls is a leading provider of work wear and PPE in the Nordic region, through a chain of specialized stores, consisting of 42 stores in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia. Grolls owns the Björnkläder brand, one of the leading work wear brands in Sweden. For more information, see www.grolls.se
Litorina, founded in 1998, is a private equity firm that focuses on acquiring and industrially developing small to medium-sized companies, primarily Swedish, along with their leading executives. Litorina offers broad and deep expertise via its own organization as well as through its network of industrial advisors. Litorina Capital Advisors AB serves as an investment advisor for Litorina's funds. Litorina is backed by a number of reputable institutions that have jointly invested approximately SEK 4.8 billion in Litorina's four funds. For more information, see www.litorina.se.