18. Juni 2008 – Mercantile Group Oy Ab has entered into an agreement to sell all the shares in Mercantile Oy Ab to BUFAB group. The agreement covers all operations of Mercantile Oy Ab, with the exception of the Turvanasi business. The operations will continue under the name of Bufab Mercapartner Oy Ab.
The acquisition, still subject to approval from the relevant competition authorities, would make Bufab Mercapartner an employer of 75 people with a turnover above €30 million in 2008.
”This is an important step for Bufab”, says Hans Björstrand, CEO of Bufab. ”It is a very positive move. It gives us new possibilities to strengthen our position in the Finnish market and to strengthen our position to important strategic customers.” “Bufab is an excellent home for Mercantile’s fastener and small part business unit offering a solid global background for the future”, says Kai‐Petteri Purhonen, managing director of Mercantile.
MERCANTILE GROUP OY AB
Mercantile Group Oy Ab is a family‐owned group with a turnover of €95M and 440 employees. The Group concentrates on the automotive spare parts and garage sector with leading brands and concepts such as Hella, Wabco, Autoasi and Bosch Car Service, as well as on the fire safety sector with the Turvanasi concept and leading brands such as Gloria. The Group operates in Finland, Estonia and Russia.
BUFAB
Bufab is a European market leader in fasteners and small parts for general industry.
The range consists of 100,000 different articles of screws, nuts, washers and special parts. Bufab is headquartered in Värnamo, Sweden, with sales offices in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Germany, France, UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Spain, India, USA, China, and Taiwan. Bufab has annual sales
of approx. SEK 2.3 billion and 700 employees. The owner of Bufab is Nordic Capital.