Intera’s portfolio company Orthex acquires the shares in Sveico AB
Oy Orthex Ab, a portfolio company of Intera Fund I, acquires 100% of the shares in Swedish Sveico AB. Sveico is one of the leading producers of kitchen utensils in the Nordic region.
Intera’s portfolio company Orthex grows through a merger with Sveico AB, a Swedish producer of kitchen utensils. The revenue of the combined entity will exceed €25m and the number of employees will amount to over 130.
The merger with Sveico is a part of Orthex’s strategy to become a leading North European supplier of affordable household products. Orthex’s CEO Kari Kallonen comments: “Acquisition of Sveico creates plenty of opportunities both in Finland and Sweden as well as in the other Nordic countries. We have practically no overlapping products and the brands of the both companies are well known.”
“Year 2009 was the best year ever for Orthex both in terms of revenue and profitability. We have a strong and determined strategy in place which will now start to become visible to the customers of Orthex and Sveico”, says Martin Grotenfelt, Partner at Intera and a Board Member of Orthex.
Sveico AB was founded in 1914 and is currently one of the leading producers of kitchen utensils in the Nordic region. Sveico’s products are sold in almost all the major central chains and discount stores in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. The company has three familiar consumer brands: Sveico, GastroMax and Kökskungen. Sveico has operations in Gnosjö and Vesterås, Sweden.
Oy Orthex Ab is a Finnish producer and marketer of household plastic products. Orthex’s products are versatile and affordable every-day household items. The company was established in 1956 in its current premises in Lohja, Finland. During the years, Orthex has grown from a small workshop to the largest producer of household plastic products in Finland. Orthex’s revenue in 2009 amounted to approx. €12.5m.
For additional information: Martin Grotenfelt, Intera Equity Partners, Partner, tel. +358 50 2145
