Kinnarps plans large acquisition in Germany

Kinnarps has recently signed a Letter of Intent with the German office furniture company Samas with the intention to acquire a large part of Samas operations in Germany. Through this acquisition, Kinnarps will be one of the leading suppliers in the German market; Europe’s largest for office furniture.

Samas, previously one of the largest office furniture groups in Europe with head office in Holland has, in the wake of the financial crisis, sold off their operations in Holland, France and Germany. Kinnarps is taking an interest in the German part of Samas.

“Through this deal, we have the possibility to establish ourselves in a major way in the German market. With local production and a locally adapted product assortment for the German market in combination with a strong distribution network, we have the intention to become one of the leading players in this market. It would also be a good platform for our further expansion in Europe, where we already have a strong position today.” says Henry Jarlsson, Kinnarps CEO.

Kinnarps, which is a fully owned family company, was formed in 1942 and has over the years developed into a leading group within office furnishings. In addition to head office and production units in Sweden, Kinnarps has an international network of own sales companies and agents in some 40 countries. They are today market leaders in the Scandinavian markets and the ambition is to become an even stronger player in other European markets.

Samas Germany, which Kinnarps has the intention to acquire, currently has three production units in Germany plus a distribution network of 350 dealers plus a number of own sales offices with approx 800 employees. The total turnover is approx 1 billion SEK (approx £85M)

The formal acquisition of Samas Germany expected to be finished in the beginning of 2010.