IK acquires four regional A-Katsastus operations

The GP acquired the non-Finnish assets of A-Katsastus, which has been backed by Bridgepoint since 2005. IK made the investment via its 2017-vintage IK Small Cap II fund, which held a final close on €550m in February 2018.

With the fresh capital and divesting its operations outside its core Finnish market, A-Katsastus intends to look for opportunities in Finland and develop its offering in both Finnish inspection and damage repair services.

Previous funding
Tesi and MB Funds invested in A-Katsastus in a buyout deal in April 2003.

The acquisition was followed by Bridgepoint, which acquired A-Katsastus from MB Funds, Tapiola, Finnish Industry Investment and Varma Mutual Pension Fund two years later, in December 2005.

Company
Headquartered in Helsinki and established in 1966, A-Katsastus provides vehicle inspections and certifications that are required by law in Finland. The company was state-owned until 2003 when MB Funds and Tesi acquired the business. Finland was one of the first countries to introduce vehicle inspections in 1907, and the industry was deregulated in 1994.

With a network of 375 employees and 106 inspection stations, the group offers vehicle inspection services in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Poland. Its services include periodic technical inspections, registration inspections, voluntary checks and related services for passenger cars, light trucks, buses and lorries.

People
IK Investment Partners – Kristian Carlsson Kemppinen (partner).
A-Katsastus – Kari Kivikoski (CEO).
Carspect – Lars Selenius (CEO).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• Nordics
• Support services
• Finland
• IK Investment Partners
• Bridgepoint
• Secondary buyout