Industri Kapital’s profitable yard work

The purchase price amounts to €730m which includes the transfer of debt, shareholder credits and pensions amounting to €416m.

Gardena reported its best result ever for the financial year 2005/2006. Sales increased by 7.2% to €421.8m and EBITDA by 12.6% to €77m.

Since 2002 when the company was bought by Industri Kapital, it has been re-focused on its core brand business Gardena with non-core businesses, Melnor and Adlus, being spun off. Industri Kapital has also focused on continued internationalization of the company and achieved double digit growth rates in Southern and Eastern Europe. The product portfolio was also expanded and the distribution network improved.

Detlef Dinsel, Partner at Industri Kapital said: “We are very pleased with the strong performance shown by Gardena during our holding as demonstrated by the EBITDA margin increasing by more than 8 percentage points to 18%. Gardena has also strengthened its position as the European leader in the garden equipment industry, benefited from a strong focus on its core business whilst also improving its operational performance. For us, Gardena has been a good investment which was also manifested by the strong interest in the company. In selecting a new owner for the garden tools company, we were attracted by the further development opportunities for the business offered by Husqvarna.”

Bengt Andersson, President and CEO of Husqvarna added: ”Gardena has built a very strong brand based on innovative products and best-in-class customer service. The combination of the two companies creates opportunities for growth for both Gardena’s and Husqvarna’s products. We expect to see a positive trend in demand for irrigation products going forward and we see this product area as a platform for growth.”

Martin Bertinchamp, CEO of Gardena said: “The company is a growing and highly profitable one. The business has made real progress in the last few years and has further built its market position both in Germany and across Europe. We have also optimized our structures and processes and improved our profitability substantially.”

The transaction is subject to customary merger control approval.