(Bloomberg) — Norway’s Komplett ASA agreed to acquire NetOnNet AB in a deal that values the Swedish e-retailer at 3.7 billion kroner ($420 million) to create the second-biggest electronics retailer in the Nordic region.
Komplett is buying the shares from SIBA Invest AB, NetOnNet’s sole shareholder, for 1.5 billion kroner in cash and 35.2 million of its own shares, the companies said in a statement. The combined company will have a market share of around 10% in the Nordics, second only to Elkjop, part of Currys Plc, according to the statement.
“We may look alike from the outside, but we have many complementary strengths that will enhance each others’ brands,” NetOnNet’s chief executive, Susanne Holmstrom, said by phone.
The companies sell electronics and IT equipment primarily online, a market they say is growing as consumers increasingly buy gear on the web. The combination will reduce costs, mostly in sourcing, by 200 million kroner a year, with the full impact seen within two years.
The acquisition price is “fair” and the merger should create a “leading online-first electronics retailer in the Nordics,” according to Ole Martin Westgaard, an analyst at DNB Bank ASA.
Komplett will finance the cash consideration via a 1.5 billion-krone bridge loan, which will be replaced with proceeds from the issuance of new shares. SEB AB advised Komplett in the acquisition process and Carnegie Investment Bank AB advised SIBA Invest.
“It’s a very nice industrial logic as we will double the purchase organization, and we’re sure that there are substantial synergies in combined purchases and lower prices,” Komplett’s CEO Lars Olav Olaussen said in a phone interview.
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