EQT acquires 30% stake in listed company Beijer Ref

Eliza Punshi
08 December 2020

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EQT has entered into an agreement to acquire a 30% stake in listed Swedish company Beijer Ref for $1.1bn from air conditioner manufacturer Carrier Global Corporation.

The deal will give the GP a 29.6% stake and 26.4% of the voting rights in the company.

The GP is deploying equity from EQT IX, which will be 20-25% invested after the transaction, based on its target fund size of €14.75bn. The vehicle is due to hold a final close in Q1 2021.

EQT partner Albert Gustafsson said in a statement that the GP had followed the company for many years, and that it will support the company in "the phase-out of F-gas dependent solutions in favour of sustainable greentech technologies".

The GP will support Beijer Ref's growth through M&A and organic expansion, as well as investment in digitalisation and automation initiatives, and help it become a leader in sustainability.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is due to close at the end of December 2020.

Company
Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Malmö, Beijer Ref is a wholesaler of refrigeration, air conditioning and heating services and operates out of 425 branches. It serves more than 100,000 customers and has around 3,700 employees. Between January and September 2020, the company reported net sales and EBITDA of roughly SEK 14.1bn (€1.37bn) and SEK 1.5 billion (€147m), respectively.

People
Advisers
Equity - White & Case (legal); EY (tax); KPMG (financial due diligence); The Footprint Firm (ESG due diligence).
Vendor - Citigroup (financial adviser).