Ratos’s subsidiary Bisnode has concluded an agreement to acquire all the shares in the German company WLW. The seller is the Italian group Seat Pagine Gialle and the purchase price amounts to approximately SEK 411m (Enterprise Value). Ratos will provide equity of approximately SEK 288m in conjunction with this deal.

Bisnode is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of digital business information with services within market, credit and product information. Ratos became a principal owner of Bisnode in 2005 when Ratos’s associated company Infodata merged with Bonnier Business Information. Since then the company has strengthened its leading position in the European market through some 20 strategic acquisitions. The company has approximately 3,000 employees. Bisnode has enjoyed a highly positive profitability trend in recent years and sales in 2007 totalled SEK 3,899m with an operating profit (EBITA) of SEK 580m.

WLW (Wer liefert was?) offers supplier search services on the internet and the company has a strong market position in the German-speaking countries of Europe. The head office is located in Hamburg and the company has some 250 employees. Sales in 2007 amounted to SEK 355m and operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) was SEK 73m.

“WLW is an ideal partner for our Product Databases & Tradepress business area. The acquisition will provide significant synergy gains while strengthening our customer offering,” says Bisnode’s CEO Johan Wall.

Ratos will provide equity of SEK 288m to Bisnode in conjunction with the acquisition of WLW. Ratos’s holding in Bisnode amounts to 70%, the remainder is owned by Bonnier Holding AB.

The acquisition of WLW is subject to approval from the relevant competition authorities.

Tags: Ratos