Nobia and DMG acquire German kitchen retail company Asmo

Through Culinoma GmbH, Nobia AB in Sweden and De MandemakersGroep Holding BV in the Netherlands have today acquired the Asmo Group in Germany. The Asmo Group is a kitchen retail chain based in Bavaria with 12 fully owned stores in the Munich area with retail sales of approximately EUR 30 million. The seller is TAC Holding GmbH.

 

Culinoma was established in February this year, with the objective of developing kitchen stores in Germany through organic growth and acquisitions, thereby attaining a leading position in the market. With Marquardt's 26 stores, PLANA Küchenland's 39 franchise stores, and the 12 stores in the Asmo chain, Culinoma now has 77 kitchen stores, with retail sales of approximately EUR 180 million. This means that it has a leading position in the kitchen retail sector in Germany and a geographical spread from north to south.

 

Fredrik Cappelen, CEO of Nobia and Ben Mandemakers, CEO of DMG, jointly comment on the acquisition:  "With the acquisition of Asmo, Culinoma has three platforms from which to operate: PLANA in the south, Marquardt in central Germany and now Asmo will strengthen the market presence in the highly interesting Munich region. Culinoma thereby reinforces its kitchen offer in the middle segment of the market and will continue its efforts to realise synergies from the coordination of the acquired entities."

 

Today, Asmo is a retail chain of 12 stores, mainly located in high-traffic retail parks in the greater Munich area. Asmo's most recently opened stores are between 1,200 and 2,000 square metres. The company employs approximately 120 people and products are sourced from a wide range of suppliers.

 

The acquisition of the Asmo Group is conditional upon approval from the competition authorities.

 

More information about the Asmo Group, Culinoma and DMG are attached, as well as the website for images.

 

Ingrid Yllmark, Director Communications and IR, Nobia,

Tel: +46 8 440 16 00 or +46 (0)70 65 59 00 or

Fokke Broekhuis, DeMandemakersGroep, Tel: +31 651 50 21 26

 

Nobia AB, 12 October, 2007

 

 

As the leading kitchen company in Europe, Nobia is championing the consolidation of the European kitchen industry. Nobia creates profitable growth by enhancing efficiency and making acquisitions. The Nobia Group works with 20 strong brands in many European countries. Sales are mainly generated through specialised kitchen studios, both wholly owned and franchised. The Group has about 8,000 employees and net sales of approximately SEK 16 billion. Nobia is listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. More information is available at www.nobia.com.

 

 

 

The press release (including map over Germany) can be downloaded from the following link: