M&A Activity • Mar 21, 2016
M&A Activity
Open in ViewerOpens in native device viewer
AXACTOR - DETAILED ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE IKAS ACQUISITION
This is an announcement under section 3.4 of the "Continuing
obligations of stock exchange listed companies"/Oslo Børs.
Reference is made to the stock exchange notice of 17 March
2016 concerning Axactor AB (publ) ("Axactor")'s acquisition
of Ikas.
1. The Transaction
Pursuant to the share purchase agreement, Axactor will
acquire 100% of the shares of Ikas Norge AS from the selling
shareholders Gvepseborg AS, Elena AS, Vardfjell AS, Eiker
Holding Invest AS, Paulgaard AS and Hordvik AS. Ikas Norge
AS is the holding company of a group of companies which also
includes Ikas Øst AS, Ikas AS, Ikas Nord AS, Ikas Nordvest
AS and Ikas Vest AS. Pursuant to the SPA, Axactor will
purchase the minority stakes in these subsidiaries which are
not already owned by Ikas Norge AS. The acquisition is
expected to be completed on or around 31 March 2016. The
estimated purchase price is NOK 291 million, subject to
adjustments for changes in cash, debt and working capital at
the date of completion. 70% of the purchase price is to be
paid in cash, and 30% in 49,033,588 shares in Axactor AB.
The consideration shares in Axactor will not be registered
until the approval of a listing prospectus for the new
shares, expected to take place in Q2 2016, and will be
subject to a 24 month lock up period from the date of
completion.
2. Description of Ikas
Ikas Norge AS is one of the fastest growing companies in the
debt collection industry in Norway. The company has for
several years been working on innovation and product
development, and currently delivers market leading and
modern payment solutions for selected industries. The
company was established in 1988 and currently has about 70
employees with offices in five Norwegian cities. Ikas has
over the last five years doubled the turnover to NOK 91
million and with an EBITDA margin of approximately 30% in
3. Key Figures
Key consolidated figures for the Ikas group are presented in
the table below. The financial figures in the table below
are only an extract and must be read in conjunction with the
entire financial statements for the company.
NOK million 2015* 2014 2013
Revenues 91.2 80.8 72.6
Operating profit 25.7 24.0 21.0
Total assets 54.6 53.6 48.9
*unaudited.
Ikas holds no material off balance-sheet items.
4. Board and management
At the date of the SPA, the board of directors of Ikas Norge
AS consisted of Haakon Borgen and Frode Reiersrud.
Key Ikas management include CEO Frode Reiersrud, CMO Ove
Reiersrud and operational manager Thor-Olaf Bekkevold.
4. Strategic effects
The acquisition of IKAS is fully in line with Axactor's
announced strategy to establish credit management operations
in growth markets through acquisitions of well managed
companies positioned for capturing market opportunities. The
acquisition of Ikas provides Axactor with a firm operational
Norwegian foothold for the implementation of its European
strategy.
5. Agreements for the benefit of executive management or
board members in connection with the Transaction
No particular agreements or arrangements in connection with
the Transaction have been entered into that involve senior
employees or board members of Ikas.
* * *
For further information:
Geir Johansen, CFO & Investor Relations, +4747710451
About Axactor:
Axactor is a newly established company in the market for
credit management services. The company has a Nordic base
and an ambitious pan-European growth strategy, which targets
the market for non-performing loans in Europe. This market
is estimated to about 1 500 billion euros, and Axactor's
main focus is debt collection and purchase of NPL
portfolios. As a first step in the pan-European growth
strategy Axactor acquired the company ALD Abogados in
December 2015. ALD Abogados is a leading debt collection
company in Madrid with 120 employees, and has in addition a
call center with 80 employees in Valladolid, Spain.
Building tools?
Free accounts include 100 API calls/year for testing.
Have a question? We'll get back to you promptly.