Strategic Value Partners (a global alternative investment firm with approximately $19 billion of assets under management) and Bjelin Group announced the signing of an agreement where funds managed by SVP will make a €200 million preferred equity investment in Bjelin Group to facilitate its long-term growth ambitions.
Bjelin Group AB is wholly owned by the Pervan family, and its assets comprise a 51% ownership stake in Välinge Group and a 100% ownership stake in Bjelin Industries. And 49% of the shares of Välinge Group are owned by KIRKBI Invest A/S and Välinge Group management.
Välinge Group has two business segments: a licensing business for flooring and furniture applications (Välinge Innovation AB) and an industrial company with large-scale flooring production with Woodura surface technology and furniture in Sweden and Croatia. Bjelin Industries is a veneer, flooring, and furniture manufacturing business with production facilities in Croatia.
Bjelin Group AB will buy all the shares in Välinge’s industrial business, which will be merged with Bjelin Industries. And the acquisition is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2025, pending customary closing conditions and governmental approval. Funds managed by SVP will make a €200 million preferred equity investment in Bjelin Group to finance this acquisition and provide capital for additional significant investments in Woodura and veneer production to create a world-leading sustainable wood flooring company. The Pervan family will maintain an ownership stake of 97% in Bjelin Group AB.
Välinge Innovation AB, a leading R&D, IP, and licensing company mainly related to flooring and furniture technology, anticipates that it will seek a public listing at the appropriate time as the potential high growth of Woodura flooring is expected to benefit Välinge’s license revenues.
Citi and Nordea acted as joint placement agents. And SVP was advised by Kirkland and Ellis, Schjødt and Wolf Theiss as legal counsel. Bjelin Group was advised by Mannheimer Swartling as legal counsel.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our partnership with SVP is more than a financial investment. Bjelin Industries has a key relationship with SVP’s portfolio company, Pfleiderer, a leading manufacturer of high-quality wood-based products including HDF which is used as a core in our Woodura® flooring, laminates for kitchen, furniture, and construction applications. We are excited about the potential to expand the collaboration between Pfleiderer and Bjelin with a wide range of potential commercial and technical cooperation opportunities. Fredrik Alfredsson, who has a long international experience within the flooring business, will be appointed CEO of Bjelin Group.”
– Darko Pervan, Chairman and founder of Bjelin Group
“Over the past 30 years, Darko Pervan has built a leading IP licensing business and set the foundations to create a market leading industrial manufacturing business. We are delighted to be partnering with an entrepreneur of his standing at a key moment for the development of the manufacturing business. SVP has developed expertise in these types of partnership-oriented investments with founders and family offices. We look forward to working closely with the Pervan family to drive value for the business.”
– Brian Himot, Head of Structured Capital at SVP
“During the past 7 years we have been involved in large scale Woodura® production, and a major part of our license revenues have been invested to develop and commercialize this sustainable and competitive flooring technology. Välinge and Bjelin have invested about €500 million to build large-scale production and marketing capabilities and to secure the oak material which is used as a surface in floors with Woodura technology. This has provided a lot of new knowledge and patents. Our work to scale up the technology is now complete, and we are convinced that our industrial group combined with Bjelin Industries will be very successful. We believe that this will increase our license revenues and will give a very good long-term return on our investment.”
– Niclas Håkansson, CEO of Välinge Innovation AB
