European buyout specialist Candover has reached agreement the sale of the Thule Group, a leader in sports utility transportation that it acquired two and a half years ago, to Nordic Capita
European buyout specialist Candover has reached agreement the sale of the Thule Group, a leader in sports utility transportation that it acquired two and a half years ago, to Nordic Capital Fund VI.
The terms of the transaction, which is expected to be completed in July subject to regulatory approval, have not been disclosed, but Thule’s management team will reinvest in the new company and continue to be a significant owner.
Thule, headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, develops, manufactures and markets rooftop boxes, roof rails, bike carriers, trailers, towing systems, motor home accessories and snow chains. The company has approximately 4,000 employees at more than 30 production and sales locations in the leading automobile markets of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Since Candover led a EUR465m management buyout in December 2004, Thule has grown organically as well as through a series of seven complementary acquisitions in the US, including Brink, SportRack, Valley and most recently Case Logic.
Thule was Candover’s second buy-out in the Nordic region following the acquisition of Norway-based Aibel from ABB. Subsequent buy-outs in the region include Norwegian cable TV operator Get, acquired from Liberty Global, and Swedish based Hilding Anders, Europe’s largest bed manufacturer.
The sale of Thule to Nordic Capital represents a return of 2.5 times Candover’s original investment and an internal rate of return of more than 40 per cent. It is the second successful exit from Candover’s 2001 Fund in less than a month, following the four times return achieved following the recent listing of Wellstream on the London Stock Exchange.
The sale of Thule results in an uplift of GBP18.1m by comparison with the valuation of Thule at the end of last year, equivalent to an increase of 83p per share in the net asset value of Candover Investments at that date.
Says Candover managing director John Arney: ‘Thule has performed extremely well during Candover’s partnership with the management team, led by Anders Pettersson. We have more than doubled the size of the business and sales and profits have grown strongly.
‘Thule’s success has been built on a strategy of adding new categories to its portfolio of products designed for active consumers wanting to transport equipment safely, easily and in style. The company is now in excellent shape to continue its strong growth profile and meet its ambition of being a EUR1bn turnover company by 2009.’
