Altor Fund V (“Altor”) has acquired a majority stake in the fast-growing Swedish home appliances brand Aarke from the founders Jonas Groth and Carl Ljungh. The founders will remain significant owners and continue in their new operational roles as CEO and CPO.
Aarke is the leading premium home carbonation company with global presence. The company has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2016 with sales reaching above SEK 200m in 2020. Aarke currently sells premium home carbonation machines with a sleek, minimalistic Scandinavian industrial design and related products via its global distributor network and own webshop.
“When we started searching for a partner, we wanted someone that could complement us and contribute with relevant experience for the next phase in our growth journey”, says Carl Ljungh and Jonas Groth, the founders of Aarke. “We felt that Altor was a very good match as they have partnered up with founders in similar situations before and they have a successful history in supporting fast-growing consumer companies with global expansion ambitions”.
“We are highly impressed with Aarke’s success to date with spectacular growth, design capabilities, innovation and brand values. The home carbonation market is attractive and Aarke provides high-quality products to a growing, global consumer base focused on health, wellness and sustainability”, says Andreas Källström Säfweräng, partner at Altor. “We actively look for partnerships with outstanding founders, which is something we have definitely found in Carl and Jonas. We are looking forward to our journey ahead.”
In addition to the partnership with Altor, a new Board will also take office, Pernilla Ekman, former CEO of Zound Industries will become Chairman of the Board and Stefan Ytterborn, founder of POC and Cake, will become member of the Board.
