Altor Fund III GP Limited (“Altor”),has signed an agreement with 3i and Balticgruppen to acquire ÅlöIntressenter AB (“Ålö”), the Global leader in agricultural front loaders.
Ålö produces agricultural front loaders and implements under the brands Quicke, Trima, VETO and Force, and furthermore supplies front loaders to most tractor manufacturers globally. The company is based in Umeå, Sweden, and has manufacturing sites in Sweden, USA, China and France. Ålö has approximately 600 employees.
Ålö Managing Director, Olle Pehrsson, comments: “We are happy to have Altor as a new owner in order to help us in the next phase of our growth. We are well-positioned to further strengthen our position not only in our existing markets but also entry into new markets in emerging economies where Altor can provide valuable support.”
Bengt Maunsbach, Partner at Altor Equity Partners, comments: “Ålö, with its highly capable management team,is today the undisputed global leader within agricultural front loaders and implements. Ålö is widely recognized for its innovation, high-quality products and excellent customer service.”
Ålö has recently introduced a range of products tailored to meet customer needs across a broad range of applications, and the company operates an efficient, world-class manufacturing system.
Bengt Maunsbach adds, “Through our investment in Meyn we have extensive experience of developing a European company with leading technology within food production into a true world leader also within the BRIC countries. We plan to leverage that experience in developing Ålö going forward.”
Harald Mix, joint-Managing Partner at Altor Equity Partners, comments: Global engineering companies with strong market positions are a core investment area for the Altor Funds.We have through prior investments such as Aalborg Industries and Dynapac demonstrated our ability to develop such businesses into world class companies. We look forward to working with Ålö and to have them in our portfolio of companies.”
Closing is conditional upon approval from relevant competition authorities and is expected to take place in July.
Corporate Finance advisor to Altor was ABG Sundal Collier, Ernst & Young provided financial advisory and Grönberg Advokatbyrå acted as legal advisor.
About Ålö
The world leading Ålö has as a business idea to be best and quickest to develop and produce front loaders with associated equipment – and to continuously provide its’ customers with the best support possible. Ålö develops and manages four independent and market leading brands, Quicke, Trima, VETO and Force. The group has sales companies in eight countries and factories in five countries. There are a total of about 600 people working in the group.
About Altor
The Altor Funds are private equity funds comprising the “Altor 2003 Fund”, with committed capital of EUR 650 million, the “Altor Fund II”, with committed capital of EUR 1,150 million and also the “Altor Fund III”, with committed capital of EUR 2,000 million. The Altor Funds are advised by Altor Equity Partners. The Altor Funds invest incompanies in the Nordic region with a focus on value creation through growth initiatives, strategic development and operational improvements and have since their inception in 2003 invested in over 30 platform investments and more than 30 add-on acquisitions. Current and past Investments include Aalborg Industries, Dynapac, Meyn, Piab, Byggmax, Lindorff, Dustin, Helly Hansen, Apotek Hjärtat, Carnegie, and Papyrus.
