Litorina sells Fresks to Kesko for €200m

The sale ends a holding period of just over three years for Litorina, which tapped its SEK 2.525bn fourth fund for the original deal.

The GP appointed Carnegie for a strategic review at the start of the year and decided to run a process for a small number of trade buyers.

The company's sales have more than doubled from SEK 850m to SEK 2.1bn during Litorina's holding period, and profitability has also improved, according to a statement.

Litorina supported the acquisition of 19 centres, the establishment of two greenfield sites, and other organic growth initiatives.

Previous funding
Litorina acquired a majority stake in Fresks in 2016 alongside the founding family, the Oscarsons, who retained a significant minority. Litorina originally invested around €20m of equity in the business, Unquote understands.

Company
Fresks is a building supplies merchant founded in 1862 in Östersund. The company has 33 centres around Sweden and offers customers a range of products in building materials, hardware and paint. It employs 500 people.

People
Litorina Capital – Lars Verneholt (partner); Ann Dahlman (partner); Andreas Nyberg (investment manager).
Fresks Group – Leif Lindholm (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Carnegie (corporate finance); Vinge (legal); PwC (financial due diligence).

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