Nordic Capital acquires Ellos

Nordic Capital's acquisition is subject to approval by the competition authorities.

The sale is part of a strategic process by PPR to divest the Redcats division, in order to focus the group's activities on the luxury (Gucci) and sports & lifestyle (Puma) segments.

According to Nordic Capital, Ellos had been considered as a potential deal for a long time prior to the acquisition. Nordic Capital started to look at the company during the summer last year, while the process started in late 2012 and completed at the end of February 2013.

Ellos is already in a good market position within its sector and will keep building on that area, Nordic Capital told unquote". The company will continue to develop its mix of traditional mail order and online order services within the Nordic region.

Nordic Capital plans to grow Ellos and Jotex's distance sales by leveraging the brands' positions and e-commerce platforms, and by broadening the product offering within women's fashion as well as the children, outdoor and large-size segments.

Today, Ellos is active within the Nordic region, Russia, the UK and Switzerland. Discussions with Nordic Capital will take place regarding a potential expansion further beyond the Nordic countries in the future.

Nordic Capital Fund VII's current holdings include retail companies Tokmanni in Finland, Europris in Norway and Sport-Master in Denmark. Previous Nordic Capital fund holdings include Swedish clothing company KappAhl.

Company
Ellos and Jotex, founded in 1947 and 1963 respectively, are headquartered in Borås, Sweden.

Ellos is a well-known brand within the clothing and home textile sectors, focusing on contemporary fashion for the entire family. It has recently developed a new brand for the sports/outdoor market, named Áhkká. Ellos's fashion products are available in all of the Nordic countries and 70% of its orders are placed online.

Jotex is a Scandinavian home textile specialist and has developed progressively in Finland and Norway. Jotex also provides customers with a home textile and decoration e-commerce offering. Together, the two companies have 4.5 million customers.

People
John Hedberg is a principal at Nordic Capital. Hans Ohlsson is CEO of Ellos.

Advisers
Equity – Cederquist, Martin Ulfson (Legal); Swedbank, Anders Engdahl (M&A); Axys Consultants, Sandrine Chouard (M&A).

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