Industri Kapital to acquire Partek’s insulation operations

Partek and Industri Kapital discuss divestiture of Partek’s majority holding in the insulation operations to the Industri Kapital 1997 Fund as well as to the executive management of its insulation business. Partek will continue to be a shareholder in the company with a 40 to 45 per cent interest, so Partek’s shareholders will benefit from a potential rise in the company’s value in the years to come. The aim is to expand the company’s ownership base at a later date. The final agreement, which will require the due-diligence process and the approval of the competent authorities, could be made during the first half of 1999.

Partek Insulation is the leading producer of rock-wool-based insulation in the Baltic region. Its net sales are FIM 1.3 billion and it employs 1,600 people. The operating result for 1997 was FIM 108 million. At the end of August 1998, capital employed was about FIM 500 million. The insulation operations have been expanded in recent years in the Baltic region by establishing production plants in Lithuania and Poland. Partek Insulation is now sufficiently strong and profitable to become independent. The company will continue the active implementation of its growth strategy in Europe. Good growth prospects are still to be seen in Central and Eastern Europe.

Pieder Biese will continue as the President of Partek Insulation. The company’s management will become shareholders in the company.

Christoffer Taxell, President and CEO of Partek, and Björn Savén, Chief Executive of Industri Kapital, December 17, 1998:

“Partek is willing to participate in developing the value of Partek Insulation in the future. Partek has been pleased with the results of divesting its precast concrete operations and making it part of the Addtek group. Partek is an influential minority shareholder in the Addtek Group,” said Christoffer Taxell, President and CEO of Partek.

“The expansion into the Baltic countries and Poland has strengthened Partek Insulation’s position as the leading insulation company in the Nordic market and the Baltic Sea region. The prospects look positive to develop the company and its profitability,” said Björn Savén, Chief Executive of Industri Kapital.