Freudenberg buys Denmark's Nilfisk for $580M, ending stock listing
What's the deal? German family-owned industrial group FreudenbergDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is acquiring Danish vacuum-cleaner maker NilfiskDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for 3.8 billion kr and delisting it from the Danish stock exchange. Freudenberg offered 140 kroner per share — a 40% premium over the market price when the bid was made in December. By the time the acceptance window closed on April 8, holders of 94.47% of shares had accepted, clearing the 90% threshold for completion.
Who cashes in? The Lego family, Nilfisk's largest shareholder through its investment vehicle KirkbiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, stands to collect 740 million kr. Norway's Johan Andresen and his two daughters, via their investment company FerdDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, are the other major holders. Kirkbi, Ferd, and PrimeStone CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → locked in their combined 50.9% stake to the deal back in December.
Why now? Nilfisk has struggled to accelerate growth and slipped into the red, losing 275 million kr last year. Revenue reached 7.5 billion kr, with the US its largest market at 24% and Denmark just 7%. Vacuum cleaners and floor scrubbers make up 57% of sales, high-pressure washers 11%, and after-sales and service 32%.
The backstory: Engineer Peder Fisker founded the company in 1906 with Hans Nielsen, giving the firm its name. In 1910 they built the first European electric vacuum cleaner, and in 1919 the company rolled out its first Nimbus motorcycle. Today Nilfisk operates in 100 countries with 4,500 employees.
The buyer: Freudenberg is a 175-year-old family-owned supplier to the automotive and pharmaceutical industries, with 52,000 employees worldwide.
The signal: The exit trims one of the Lego family's holdings during a rare down year for Denmark's wealthiest. The country's 100 richest families saw their combined fortune fall from 1,240 billion kr to 1,225 billion kr — only the second such decline in fifteen years — though the Kirk Kristiansen family remains Denmark's richest at over 350 billion kr.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
