Altor Fund IV (“Altor”) has signed an agreement to acquire a majority share in the fast-growing Swedish consumer brand iDeal of Sweden from the current owners including founders Joachim Lindström and Filip Ummer. The founders and eEquity will remain as significant shareholders of the company and the founders will continue in their operational roles as CEO and Head of Product.
iDeal of Sweden sells mobile and fashion accessories with high design content through an online first direct-to-consumer model supported by a unique and global influencer network. The company was founded in 2013 and has grown at an impressive speed to a turnover of ca SEK 430m for the fiscal year that ended in December 2018.
“We wanted to find a partner that could complement us and contribute with relevant experience when we started searching for a partner for the next phase” says Joachim Lindström and Filip Ummer, founders of iDeal of Sweden. “Altor has experience from professionalizing and building world-class companies and understands our online first direct-to-consumer business model which we believe will support us in reaching our goal of making iDeal of Sweden the leading global brand in the mobile accessories market, in combination with the financial strength to enable this goal. We are very proud of the whole iDeal of Sweden team, and grateful towards our partners and customers, for helping us achieve the strong historical performance of the company, and very excited to continue our journey together with Altor.”
“We are highly impressed with the company’s growth and successful digital marketing strategy, including its world-leading influencer marketing, as well as the online first direct-to-consumer model. iDeal of Sweden has also built an impressive platform for further international expansion with a strong management team and state-of-the-art IT in place”, says Stefan Linder, Partner at Altor. “Altor actively seeks partnerships with outstanding founders, which is something we have found in Joachim and Filip. We have had great experiences in the past of working with successful founders of businesses and supporting them on rapid growth journeys, including international expansion. We look forward to contributing with our experiences of online business models, global expansion of brands and the scaling of business models. While iDeal of Sweden is unique, we hope to contribute with experience from all of our prior investments, including our 10-year ownership of Dustin and its development from a family owned business to the largest e-commerce business in the Nordics, with revenues of approximately SEK 7.5 billion.”
The founders, management and eEquity will roll over a significant part of their current ownership.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory requirements and approvals.
For more information, please contact:
Joachim Lindström, Co-founder of iDeal of Sweden, Tel: +46 72 321 44 44
Stefan Linder, Partner at Altor, Tel: +46 8 678 91 00
About Altor
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some EUR 8.3 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested in excess of EUR 4.2 billion in more than 60 companies. The investments have been made in medium sized predominantly Nordic companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are Dustin, RevolutionRace, Rossignol, Helly Hansen, Navico, SATS ELIXIA and Carnegie Investment Bank. For more information visit www.altor.com
