Litorina in SEK 790m trade sale of workwear retailer Grolls

The exit comes five and a half years after Litorina took a majority stake in Grolls for SEK 307m through a carve-out from local parent Davis Service Group.

Swedol will finance its new acquisition in part through a rights issue, in which the company expects to raise SEK 300m.

Under Litorina's ownership, Grolls has grown its revenues from SEK 480m to SEK 1bn last year, with operating profit rising from SEK 26m to SEK 80m between the 2010 buyout and 2015.

Alongside the GP's 2007-vintage SEK 1.38bn Litorina Kapital III vehicle, Grolls management will also exit part of its stake in the transaction.

Previous funding
Litorina acquired Grolls in a December 2010 carve-out from local parent Davis Service Group, paying SEK 307m for the company. The sale followed Davis mandating Handelsbanken to launch a structured process with the goal of handing off the division.

Company
Headquartered in Gothenburg, Grolls is a retailer of workwear and personal protection equipment, including its main brand, Björnkläder, as well as Univern and Nytello.

Though Grolls was founded in 1832 in Stockholm, the Björnkläder brand was established in 1905.

The company operates 48 stores across Sweden, Estonia, Norway and Finland, and generated sales of SEK 1bn with SEK 80m in operating profit in 2015.

People
Litorina – Lars Verneholt (partner).
Grolls – Peter Haveneth (CEO).

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