FSN Capital V establishes a Norwegian integrated group within surface treatment services

FSN Capital V* has signed agreements to simultaneously acquire majority stakes in 31 high quality companies within painting, flooring and tiling services, transforming the voluntary chain Håndverksgruppen “HG” into a clear market leader and the only pan-Norwegian integrated group within surface treatment services. The current owners (in excess of 100 individuals) have agreed to reinvest significant amounts in the group holding company and remain in their operational roles. FSN Capital V is expected to obtain an ownership of 77% in the group, the remainder to be held by management and company founders.

HG was first established as a voluntary chain by 12 companies in 2012 and has experienced strong growth in sales and chain members. The group is focused on painting, flooring and tiling services mainly to corporate customers (insurance companies and B2B customers), public customers (municipalities/governmental institutions) and building contractors. HG’s core offering is rehabilitation and reconstruction (~2/3 of sales) and in aggregate the 31 companies generated 2019 sales and EBITDA of NOK ~1,100m and ~100m, respectively.

The transaction was executed on a proprietary basis by FSN Capital V after initiating a dialogue with the owners in May 2019.

Erik Nelson, Partner at FSN Capital Partners (investment advisor to FSN Capital V) sees a clear rational for the transaction: “The surface treatment market is very fragmented resulting in a somewhat underserved professional customer segment, seeking high quality operators with regional/national reach, in addition, rehabilitation and reconstruction makes up a significant share of the market providing downturn resilience. The HG set of companies represent best of breed from the industry based on track record and customer advocacy. We see an exciting opportunity in partnering with all the existing management teams to further develop HG and accelerate talent recruiting and retention, expand the geographical footprint, and achieve scale to invest in branding activities while realizing synergies from best practice sharing and better access to regional and national framework agreements”.

Børge Grindhagen, Chairman at Handverksgruppen: “We are excited to take HG to the next level through combining the strength of a large company with high local flexibility and customer focus. We are creating a uniquely positioned company in terms competencies, quality of service and position to drive further consolidation. We chose FSN Capital as financial and operational partner based on their corporate governance model, core values, and previous experience with similar investments”

The transaction is subject to approval from the competition authorities.

To learn more about the companies, please go to: https://handverksgruppen.com

FSN Capital was advised by Cardo Partners, PWC, Simonsen Vogt Wiig.

* FSN Capital GP V Limited acting in its capacity as general partner for and on behalf of each of FSN Capital V L.P., FSN Capital V (B) L.P. and FSN Capital V Invest L.P.

For more information please contact the following persons at FSN Capital Partners (investment advisor to the FSN Capital Funds):

Erik Nelson, Partner
en@fsncapital.com 

Morten Welo, Partner & COO/IR
mw@fsncapital.com