Clairfield advises JOST Werke AG on the acquisition of Ålö AB from Altor Funds

JOST Werke AG, the global market leader in safety critical solutions for commercial vehicles, acquired Ålö AB, one of the world’s leading suppliers for the agricultural machinery industry, from Altor Fund III.

JOST Werke AG, Neu-Isenburg/ Germany, was founded in 1952 as a family business and is stock-quoted since mid-2017. JOST offers high-quality brand products that are split into the following three system groups: vehicle interface (focusing on products required for operating truck and trailer commercial vehicle combinations, such as fifth wheel couplings and landing gears), handling solutions (comprising container equipment and hydraulic cylinder products) and maneuvering (focusing on axles for tractors (trucks), semitrailers and trailers, as well as forced steering systems).

As the leading supplier of fifth wheel couplings and landing gears worldwide, JOST heads the market in the vehicle interface systems sector with a 60% market share. JOST’s position as an international market leader is strengthened by its strong brands, its long-term customer relationships supported by a global sales network, and by the efficient and non-capital-intensive business model. The four JOST brands – JOST, ROCKINGER, TRIDEC and Edbro – are highly valued in the industry thanks to the quality of their products and continuous innovations. Its global sales network and production sites across five continents mean that JOST has direct access to all major manufacturers of trucks and trailers, as well as all relevant end customers. JOST currently employs over 2,900 staff worldwide and operates 19 production sites in 21 countries. JOST has continuously outperformed the truck market in terms of margin and cash generation profile since 2003.

Ålö AB, headquartered in Umea/ Sweden, is one of the world’s leading suppliers in the agricultural machinery industry and has been developing and manufacturing top-quality front-end loaders under the brands Quicke® and Trima®, and associated implements under Original Implements™, since 1949. With sales companies in 7 countries, factories in 4 countries and customers in more than 50 countries, Ålö account for 30 % of the world market in the segment for tractors with engines more powerful than 50 hp. Around 90 % of the total output is exported. The company has production facilities in Sweden, USA, China and France and generates a turnover of approximately EUR 200 million with about 700 employees.

Altor Funds, which had acquired Ålö in 2011, is a family of private equity funds focused on investing in and developing medium-sized companies. Leading international institutional investors have committed a total of EUR 8.3 billion to the 5 Altor funds.

With this acquisition JOST will transform its existing agricultural business into another cornerstone of the group. JOST expects that the integration of Ålö will generate synergies in product development and purchasing as well as in the joint commercialization of products for the agricultural industry marketed under JOST’s current brand ROCKINGER and Ålö’s brand Quicke. JOST acquires 100% of the share capital in Ålö Holding AB. The agreed purchase price corresponds to an enterprise value of EUR 250 million.

Joachim Dürr, CEO of JOST Werke AG, said: “With Ålö we are acquiring one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural front loaders worldwide. Like JOST, service quality, customer orientation and sales excellence are Ålö’s top priorities. The company operates under the long-established and international renowned brand Quicke. This makes Ålö a perfect match for JOST. For us, this acquisition is an important strategic step towards supplying an even broader base of customers in the commercial vehicle industry with high-quality products and intelligent system solutions. Moreover, it will give us access to new growth fields.”

Niklas Åström, CEO of Ålö, commented: “In JOST we have found an ideal industrial partner who, like us, maintains close contact with OEMs and end customers and clearly understands and appreciates the strategic advantages of a strong product brand. We can learn a lot from each other. By bundling our know-how we will be able to develop promising business areas together.”

Albert Schander, co-founder and managing partner of Clairfield, stated: ”We are proud that JOST chose Clairfield as its exclusive buy-side advisor. This transaction is another landmark example of efficient crossborder teamwork providing our client with resilient access to the seller, a creative local sounding board, and management of complex due diligence workstreams under time pressure.”

Clairfield International teams in Germany and Sweden acted as exclusive financial advisor to JOST.

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