Alantra advises Rite-Hite on the sale of Caljan to Latour

Oct 2019

Sell-side advisory

Frankfurt, Stockholm and Boston – Alantra has advised Rite-Hite on the sale of Caljan (“the Company”), a leading supplier of automation technology for parcel handling in the logistics and e-commerce sectors, to Investment AB Latour (“Latour”). Alantra has acted as an exclusive M&A advisor to Rite-Hite, running a competitive auction process internationally. The completion of the transaction is subject to merger control approvals in Europe.

Caljan enjoys a market leading position in parcel handling automation technology for logistics and e-commerce sectors. The product offering includes telescopic conveyors, automated document handling and labelling solutions as well as automation solutions for parcel depots. The Company, founded in 1963, is headquartered in Denmark, with subsidiaries in Germany, France, UK, Latvia and USA. Net sales amount to approx. €100m, with an operating margin exceeding 15% and exhibiting strong growth. The Company has 450 employees.

Latour is an investment company quoted on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm since 1985. Latour’s main business concept is to invest long-term in companies with their own products and brands, a great development potential supported by global megatrends and with good prospects for internationalization. Latour’s market cap is ~€7.5bn.

“We are highly satisfied with the outcome of this transaction and believe that Latour will prove the right home for Caljan and its employees. Alantra´s sector knowledge, know-how of the Nordic market and senior level involvement throughout the process were instrumental for the success of this transaction.” said Paul Maly, CEO of Rite-Hite.

Henrik Olesen, CEO of Caljan added: “We have been working intensively with the Alantra team for the better part of 2019. Their profound knowledge of our industry, understanding of our business and full commitment has immensely helped us throughout the sale process. We were highly impressed about the way they have worked together as an integrated team combining their global sector team with their Nordic and US offices.”

The sale process was led by the Industrial Automation & Machinery team in Frankfurt and Boston together with Alantra´s Stockholm office. The deal team was supported by international offices for local buyer access.