SFS Group, owner of GESIPA and majority stake of HECO, has entered an agreement to acquire quality tool brand Hoffmann SE. The move has been hailed a "quantum leap" in expanding the market position and size of SFS Group.
The two companies have been collaborating for a number of years and the move opens "major development opportunities" for both. Hoffmann generates around €1 billion in sales in 2021, with approx 3,000 employees and is on site in over 50 countries.
The SFS Board will be bolstered with key individuals from Munich-headquartered Hoffmann. The transaction does not include Contorion, the e-commerce subsidiary of Hoffmann SE, which is geared to a different customer segment.
Hoffmann is a family-run business (like SFS) and serves more than 100,000 customers with a range of around 500,000 items, including hand and power tools, milling, moulding, cutting, measuring, grinding, workshop equipment and more.
The new LogisticCity is a 100,000 m2 facility in Nuremberg, aiming to be Europe's most high performance logistics centre for quality tools.
"A quantum leap for SFS Group in terms of market position and size"
“SFS’s trading business is already a leader on the Swiss market and by joining forces with Hoffmann SE, Europe’s leading systems partner, it now also gains an international dimension in one fell swoop. A quantum leap for SFS in terms of market position and size!," says Jens Breu (CEO of the SFS Group).
"Going forward, this will enable SFS to offer its Swiss customers the same range of products and the same high level of service and logistics expertise that they have grown accustomed to, but at the international level, as well. We follow our customers."
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Hoffman SE Dr Peter Bauschatz has been elected to the SFS Board of Directors. Hoffman's current Chairman of the Executive Board Martin Reichenecker will joining the Group Executive Board of SFS.
Martin Reichenecker (Chairman of the Executive Board of Hoffmann SE) said: “Hoffmann SE will continue to systematically pursue the strategic path it has already set out upon. The new constellation with SFS will also be beneficial not only for our customers, but for both companies, such as through the use of SFS’s expertise in the areas of mechanical fastening systems and electronic procurement solutions."
The press statement added: "The extensive cross-selling potential opened up through the combination of Hoffmann and SFS gives rise to additional growth prospects, as well. In the medium term, Hoffmann’s existing customers will gain access to SFS’s expertise in the areas of mechanical fastening systems and electronic procurement solutions."
The transaction is expected to conclude in H1 2022.
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