JOST Werke AG: ​​​​​​​JOST acquires Ålö Holding AB, one of the world's leading manufacturers of agricultural front loaders

JOST acquires Ålö Holding AB, one of the world's leading manufacturers of agricultural front loaders

Neu-Isenburg, December 12, 2019. JOST Werke AG ("JOST"), a leading global producer and supplier of safety-critical systems for commercial vehicles, has signed an agreement to purchase Ålö Holding AB ("Ålö"), one of the world's leading manufacturers of agricultural front loaders. With this acquisition JOST aims to transform its existing agricultural business into another cornerstone of the group.

Ålö is headquartered in Umeå, Sweden. It has production sites in Sweden, China, the U.S. and France as well as sales offices in all significant markets. The company develops, produces and markets its agricultural applications under the brand Quicke. With about 700 employees and a worldwide market share of approximately 30 % in the market for agricultural front loaders, Ålö's product portfolio and customer network of OEMs and dealers will strengthen JOST's presence in the agricultural sector.

JOST has signed a purchase agreement to acquire 100 % of the share capital in Ålö Holding AB. The seller is Altor Fund III. The agreed purchase price corresponds to an enterprise value of EUR 250 million. The transaction will be financed through a combination of cash, existing credit lines and a new term loan. As a result, leverage (net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA) will temporarily increase to around 2.5x in 2020. JOST aims to reduce its leverage to a corridor of 1.0x to 2.0x by the end of 2021.

For 2019, Ålö expects revenues of around EUR 200 million and an adjusted EBITDA between EUR 25 million and EUR 26 million. On a stable revenue basis, in 2020 adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow in the range of EUR 27 million to EUR 31 million. Future synergies with JOST are not yet included in the expectations for 2020. The anticipated increase in adjusted EBITDA margin is based on well-advanced efficiency projects, which will have a full year impact for the first time in 2020. Key drivers are efficiency improvements in the global production footprint, design optimizations for the new product generation and additional ongoing cost-saving measures, which have already been implemented in 2019. Based on the mid-point adjusted EBITDA range expected for 2020, the purchase price corresponds to approximately 8.6x EBITDA.

An additional possible payment of up to EUR 25 million in fiscal year 2021 is strictly linked to the achievement of clearly defined earnings improvement targets and to the successful implementation of further efficiency projects that would lead to an adjusted EBITDA of more than EUR 31 million in the year 2020.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to JOST's earnings already in 2020. The adjusted EBITDA margin should reach JOST's level from the outset. In the medium term, the investment should further enhance JOST's good margin profile. JOST expects the integration of Ålö to generate synergies in product development and purchasing as well as in the joint commercialization of products for the agricultural industry marketed under JOST's current brand ROCKINGER and Ålö's brand Quicke.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities. Closing is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2020.

Contact:

JOST Werke AG
Romy Acosta
Senior Manager Investor Relations
T: +49 6102 295-379
romy.acosta@jost-world.com