Blue Equity buys Danish tool manufacturer Junget

Eliza Punshi
14 October 2020

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Danish private equity fund Blue Equity has acquired a majority stake in Junget, the Denmark-based tools supplier to the wood industry.

The GP has acquired a 60% stake in the company, with the management retaining 40%.

The GP is deploying equity from its second fund, Blue Equity II, which held a final close in 2017 on €95m and is now almost fully invested. Unquote understands that the GP is currently on the road for its third fund.

Blue Equity typically focuses on small and medium-sized Danish companies with revenues in the range of DKK 25-250m (€3.4-33.6m).

According to Danish publication Jernindustri, the company's operating profit has increased from DKK 1.5m in 2016 to DKK 9.9m (€1.3m) in 2019.

The sale was initiated by Junget, and Deloitte was mandated to run the process. Blue Equity director Peter Poulsen told Unquote that the final decision came down to values, adding "we invest in people, not companies, and that was appealing to them."

Poulsen said that the GP has known the company for a number of years, and that Junget's very robust management and solid client base convinced it that this would be a sound investment.

Poulsen added that the strategy going forward will involve doing more of what Junget is good at, adding that the company is renowned for its customer service and so the focus will be on further optimising its service department. The GP said it was not focusing on any add-on opportunities.

The new ownership structure is subject to approval from the Danish competition authorities.

Company
Founded in 1993 and based in Hinnerup, Junget is a manufacturer of machinery and cutting tools for the wood, plastics and aluminium industries. The company employs around 100 staff and reportedly generated an operating profit of DKK 9.9m in 2019.

People
Junget – Poul Thøgersen (CEO); Ole Nielsen (technical manager).
Blue Equity – Peter A Poulsen (director of operations).

Advisers
Company – Deloitte (financial due diligence).