IK exits Kwintet to former Nordic Capital partner

Sørensen and Dyvig joined the Kwintet board of directors last year as chairperson and deputy chairperson, respectively, and will now be tasked with turning around a business that has posted losses for the past six years. Kwintet will be renamed Fristads Kansas following the acquisition.

For IK, the exit brings the GP's Industri Kapital 2000 fund close to full realisation, with only a sub-20% stake in Dutch online retailer Wehkamp remaining in the portfolio.

The deal is Dyvig's second acquisition of a private equity asset, having bought a 57% stake in Danish toy and playground business Kompan from his former employer Nordic Capital last year.

The sale is reminiscent of the acquisition of Axcel-owned clothing retailer Noa Noa by a consortium of banks in December 2014. Both clothing businesses were bought in pre-crisis deals – Noa Noa in 2007, Kwintet in 2005 – and have struggled to turn a profit since the financial crisis.

Previous funding
Kwintet first came under private equity ownership in 1999, when Axcel acquired then Oslo-listed Kansas Wenaas Group for DKK 2.07bn.

The Danish GP exited the company to IK six years later, in a secondary buyout worth in excess of DKK 3bn.

Company
Kwintet is a supplier of professional wear and owns brands including Fristads Kansas, A-code and Wenaas. Headquartered in Malmö, the group operates in around 20 countries and employs 1,900 people.

The company most recently posted revenues for 2013 of around DKK 3.4bn, with losses nearing DKK 500m.

People
Christian Dyvig is the deputy chair of Kwintet's board and led the acquiring investor group with Kwintet chair Michael Hauge Sørensen. Director Thomas Klitbo represented IK Investment Partners.

Advisors
Vendor – Roschier (Legal).

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