Ineko and Brand Factory join forces to become undisputed Nordic leader in visual communications
Stockholm, February 12, 2016.
Ineko and Brand Factory will join forces with Accent Equity 2012 (Accent) as main owner and current management as minority shareholders. Ineko and Brand Factory are both active in the field of visual communications with combined sales of SEK 1.3 billion in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Estonia.
Ineko and Brand Factory are both active in the field of visual communications with complementary operational focus. Brand Factory operates in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Estonia while Ineko’s operational focus is on Sweden. The companies have complementary customer offerings, constituting a good platform for cross sales. The combined group will achieve a stronger market position as well as synergies in several areas. Both companies’ head offices are located in Stockholm.
Accent acquired Ineko, a leading communications production company, in 2013 with the ambition to create a leader in visual communications through acquisitions as well as strategic operative investments.
“The current transaction is a good example of Accent’s value creation philosophy,” says Niklas Sloutski, CEO of Accent Equity Partners, advisor to Accent Equity 2012. ”By combining the strengths of Ineko and Brand Factory, the new entity will have a broader and deeper client offering. We are looking forward to a successful journey with the new group and do not rule out additional acquisitions.” Ineko handles everything from initial idea to finished product within its market offerings: Creative, Production and Instore. Ineko has production facilities in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Falun (Sweden). The company’s customers include a long list of public organisations and large corporations within a broad range of sectors such as retail, advertising agencies, financial institutions and consumer brands.
Brand Factory was founded in 2003 and has grown rapidly since then. The business is today divided into six product groups: Branding, Communications, Industrial Applications, Retail & Display, Store Interior and Digital Signage. The Group currently has six production facilities in Sweden (Farsta, Linköping), Finland (Espoo, Hyvinkää), Denmark (Måløv) and Estonia (Tallinn).
“I am looking forward to joining forces with Ineko,” says Peter Follin, current CEO of Brand Factory and appointed CEO of the new group. “This is a natural step as our companies have evaluated this opportunity for a long time. Ineko’s and Brand Factory’s combined offering of creative services, IT solutions, production capacity and sector specific know-how will be unmatched in the Nordic market.”
“Over the last years we have had a strategic focus on strengthening our offering on large format productions and retail customers,” says Joakim Bergman, current CEO of Ineko and appointed deputy CEO of the new group. “Together with Brand Factory we will take a big step forward in the same direction while also adding potential to further developing all of our other core services.” The transaction is conditional on approval from relevant competition authorities.
For more information, please contact: Niklas Sloutski, CEO Accent Equity Partners, +46 70 300 99 59, niklas.sloutski@accentequity.se Peter Follin, CEO Brand Factory, +46 70 492 64 09, peter.follin@brandfactory.se Joakim Bergman, CEO Ineko, +46 70 519 64 59, joakim.bergman@ineko.se Founded in 1994, Accent is one of the buy-out investment pioneers in the Nordic region. Since then, Accent funds have invested in 74 companies, whereof some 55 have been realised. Accent Equity Partners AB has advised seven funds with total commitments of more than EUR 1 billion. Accent’s ambition is to develop the portfolio companies to Nordic, European or Global leaders through sustainable improvements of their operations as well as their strategic positioning. www.accentequity.se