DECEMBER 14 2017
Nordic Capital Fund VIII (“Nordic Capital”) has signed an agreement to acquire 90 percent of the shares in Ryds Bilglas, one of the leading vehicle glass repair and replacement companies in Sweden. The shares will be acquired from Nalka Invest and the founding family Ryd. The Ryd family will remain as shareholders with 10 percent of the Company and will also remain on the Board of Directors. Nordic Capital sees great potential in supporting the acceleration of Ryds Bilglas’ growth agenda, including operational improvements and digitalisation initiatives.
Ryds Bilglas is one of the leading vehicle glass repair and replacement companies in Sweden and is also active in the Norwegian market. The company was founded in Sundsvall, Sweden by the Ryd family in 1947, has annual revenues of c. SEK 700 mn and has more than 100 workshops with over 350 employees. The market for vehicle glass repair and replacement is attractive and growing. Ryds Bilglas holds a strong market position in Sweden, with a robust platform catering for high customer satisfaction. Nordic Capital will support the Company’s continued growth strategy through further investments to strengthen its commercial excellence work, operational improvements and initiatives in digitalisation.
"Ryds Bilglas has a very experienced management team and a market-leading position which provides a solid platform for growth. The Company has a high-quality service offering and very high customer satisfaction. We share the Ryd family’s ambition to leverage on these attributes and expand the business. Nordic Capital has a long history and proven track record of growing businesses and looks forward to supporting the management team in its next phase," says Andreas Näsvik, Partner at the Advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds.
"We have a period of strong growth behind us evidenced by the doubling of our sales in Sweden in the last five years. We have established a presence in Norway and we are in the process of expanding into Denmark. With Nordic Capital supporting the Company as new owners, we believe we will have the muscles needed to further strengthen our Nordic expansion," says Anders Jensen, CEO, Ryds Bilglas.
"We in the Ryd family are very positive about our upcoming cooperation with Nordic Capital. We have cooperated with Nalka Invest for five years with great success and we anticipate further strong growth for Ryds Bilglas and that the collaboration with Nordic Capital will be successful," says Leif Ryd, representative of the founding family Ryd.
Nordic Capital has had a high level of transactional activity in 2017, having completed the take private of Nordnet, a pan-Nordic digital savings platform; the combination of Lindorff with listed Intrum to create the global industry leader in credit management services; and the IPOs of Handicare and Munters on Nasdaq Stockholm. The acquisition of Ryds Bilglas further builds on this momentum for the Nordic Capital Funds, which have made eleven successful exits including six IPOs and eight new platform investments in the last two years including MFEX and Nordax in Sweden and Alloheim in Germany.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction. The investment is subject to approval by the relevant authorities.
Media contacts:
Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Advisor to the Nordic Capital Funds
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com
Anders Jensen, CEO
Ryds Bilglas
Tel. +46 70 727 34 80
e-mail: anders.jensen@rydsbilglas.se
About Ryds Bilglas
Ryds Bilglas is one of the market leaders in Sweden for the repair and replacement of automotive glasses. The business is represented with close to 100 workshops in Sweden, and 16 in Norway. In addition to its own workshops, there is also a network of franchisees under the brand name Samglas, which is a wholly owned subsidiary. For more information, please see www.rydsbilglas.se.
About Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor in the Nordic region with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a proven track record. Core sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, Industrial Goods & Services and Consumer & Retail, and key regions are the Nordics, Northern Europe, and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested EUR 11 billion through eight funds. The Nordic Capital Funds are based in Jersey and are advised by advisory entities, which are based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and the UK. For further information about Nordic Capital please see www.nordiccapital.com