KION completes acquisition of Dematic

The KION Group has successfully completed its acquisition of Dematic, a leading specialist for automation and supply chain optimization.

The purchase makes the KION Group one of the world’s leading providers of supply chain solutions with a unique and comprehensive portfolio of products ranging from forklift trucks to fully automated material handling solutions.

“Today marks the dawn of a new era for the KION Group, Dematic and our customers,” said chief executive officer of the KION Group, Gordon Riske. “The transaction brings together the world’s most profitable manufacturer of forklift trucks and warehouse technology with one of the largest and fastest-growing warehouse automation and software solutions providers. Our combined global presence, intelligent and tailored material handling as well as comprehensive automation and software technology solutions, plus now more than 30,000 dedicated and highly skilled employees will enable us to deliver even more value for our customers.”

The new Dematic operating unit will be led by John Baysore, previously CEO of Dematic North America, who will hold the role of president and chief executive officer. In the newly created role of executive vice president international, Jeff Moss will head up Dematic’s international business outside North America, which will be a key focus for expansion. The new management team will also include Frank Herzog, previously the KION Group’s head of corporate finance, in the role of executive vice president finance and chief financial officer. Business in North America will be the responsibility of Scott Watts, who has been appointed executive vice president North America.

“At Dematic, we are proud to move forward as part of the KION Group, which even better positions us to assist our customers with supply chain performance. The newly established solution portfolio affords our customers the ability to accommodate their ever changing business requirements and will dynamically optimize their warehouse and distribution functions,” Baysore said. “The market for system solutions is expected to grow by around 10% per year in the medium term. We have the innovative technology, software expertise and global network to meet the supply chain requirements of the future, such as those resulting from the rapidly growing e-commerce sector and the many other vertical markets we serve.”

Riske expressed his gratitude to the departing CEO of Dematic, Ulf Henriksson: “We are grateful to Ulf for his hard work helping build Dematic to where it is today, and thank him for leading a smooth closing process over the last several months.”

As a result of the transaction, the KION Group will start managing its business and reporting financials by three segments in December 2016: Industrial Trucks and Services, Supply Chain Solutions and Corporate Services. The Industrial Trucks and Services segment represents KION’s business up to now and consists of four operating units: Linde Material Handling EMEA and STILL EMEA, which each concentrate on Europe, the Middle East and Africa, plus KION APAC and KION Americas, which hold cross-brand responsibility for the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas, respectively. The Supply Chain Solutions segment comprises Dematic, Egemin Automation and Retrotech, while Corporate Services includes headquarter functions and group wide services such as internal logistics and IT.

After the deduction of certain liabilities, the purchase consideration for the shares in Dematic amounts to circa $2.0 billion based on an enterprise value of $3.25 billion. The acquisition creates a leading player with pro forma revenue of more than €6.7 billion in the 2015 calendar year and a high level of profitability in the form of a combined adjusted EBIT margin of approximately 9.4% in the same period.

According to a release, the two companies complement one another with strong market positions and regional presence thus opening up further opportunities for cross-selling. Dematic will make use of the reputation and leading market positions of KION’s forklift brands in key markets such as Europe, China and Brazil, while the KION Group benefits from Dematic’s strong position in the U.S. and European automation markets. Moreover, the combination of the KION Group’s comprehensive sales and service network and Dematic’s large installed base opens up potential for further revenue gains in the software, service and retrofit businesses.