International rental company Ramirent has signed an agreement to divest its Danish equipment rental business to G.S. V. Materialudlejning A/S, Denmark’s largest equipment rental company for approximately €33 million (about U.S. $37.5 million). The deal is expected to close early in 2019, and is subject to customary closing conditions and approval of competition authorities.
Ramirent’s 130 employees in Denmark will continue their employment in the sold business once the transaction is finalized, the company said. The divested operations will be reported as discontinued operations in the fourth quarter of 2018. The transaction is expected to have only a minor impact on Ramirent’s financial results.
“I am confident that our Danish team, that has made a respectable turnaround in profitability in recent years, will find a good, long-term home as part of G.S.V.,” said Tapio Kolunsarka, president and CEO of Ramirent plc. “At the same time, Ramirent can focus on its strategy to seek profitable growth capital efficiently in its core equipment rental business.”
“G.S.V. has grown significantly over recent years and by acquiring Ramirent in Denmark, we continue to increase our relevance to customers and further strengthen our business,” said Dan Vorsholt, CEO of G.S.V. “We look forward welcoming the Ramirent employees into the G.S.V. family.”
After the divestment, Ramirent will have four segments and will continue to operate in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Ramirent also operates in Russia and Ukraine through a 50-percent owned joint venture called Fortrent.
Ramirent, headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, has 300 customer centers and 2,900 employees. Ramirent totaled €724 million in revenue in 2017.
G.S.V. Materialudlejning A/S was founded in 1964 and is one of the oldest rental companies in Denmark. It is majority owned by a Danish private equity fund CataCap and has a wide product portfolio focused on light and heavy equipment, with and without operators GSV has 390 employees in Denmark and had €115 million in volume in 2017.
