Arcus Announces the Acquisition of Opus Bilprovning AB, the Fund’s Ninth Investment
Arcus Infrastructure Partners (“Arcus”) announces that Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 2 SCSp (“AEIF2” or the “Fund”) has completed the acquisition of 100% of Opus Bilprovning AB (“Opus Bilprovning” or the “Company”), a market leading vehicle inspection business in Sweden, with a network of 94 stations nationwide serving c. 1.4m customers annually.
Opus Bilprovning operates predominantly in the mandatory periodic technical inspections (“PTI”) sector for light and heavy vehicles, which involves the testing of vehicles for mandatory safety requirements and emission levels. The Company has a strong presence in the densely populated areas in and around Stockholm, and a leading position in the northern parts of Sweden. Opus Bilprovning was created in 2012 as part of the breakup of the former state-owned monopoly, following the liberalisation of the Swedish PTI market in 2010. The Company has since established its position as a premium provider of its services, with a clear focus on customer satisfaction.
Sweden’s strong macroeconomic performance supports the growing underlying demand for PTIs and related inspections. Opus Bilprovning operates in a heavily regulated environment and also plays an important role in several key ESG aspects; Opus Bilprovning’s activities promote a cleaner environment as well as improving road safety. The Swedish Government has adopted a “Vision Zero” target to eliminate death and serious injury caused by road accidents.
Commenting on the acquisition, Ian Harding, Managing Partner at Arcus said: “We are extremely pleased to announce our investment in Opus Bilprovning, which marks the ninth investment in AEIF2, and is a strong fit with our investment strategy of targeting mid-market, value-add infrastructure businesses in Europe. We are excited to be entering into the Swedish PTI industry which has compelling ESG attributes, being part of a critical component of safety and environmental controls”.
Michael Allen, Arcus Partner and Head of Transport Origination who led the transaction said: “Arcus has been researching and evaluating the PTI sector over the past several years. This deep dive into the sector led the team to identify Opus Bilprovning as an extremely good business with an excellent management team operating in a country and market that provides high barriers to entry and good cash flow generation, and with good growth prospects. We are delighted to be working alongside Per Rosén and the senior management of Opus Bilprovning on this exciting new phase for the business”.
Lothar Geilen, CEO of Opus Group AB, Opus Bilprovning’s former parent company said: “I want to personally express my gratitude to the management team and the employees at Opus Bilprovning, led by Per Rosén, for their effort and dedication in creating a strong, quality-oriented and market leading vehicle inspection business in Sweden during the past ten years. I couldn’t be prouder of your accomplishments. Arcus is a great home for the company, and I wish Opus Bilprovning continued success under the new ownership”.
Per Rosén, CEO of Opus Bilprovning commented: “It is a pleasure to have Arcus as our new shareholder. Our focus at Opus Bilprovning has been to put our customers at the centre of what we do and we are confident that getting Arcus onboard will enable us to continue to build on our customer offering and capitalise from their best-in-class ESG practices”.
Arcus was advised by DNB (Financial Advisor), Roland Berger (Commercial), White & Case (Legal), Alvarez & Marsal (Financial, Tax and IT), and AON (Insurance).
Opus Bilprovning and its shareholders were advised by Lazard (Financial Advisor), Roschier (Legal), Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Legal), and KPMG (Financial and Tax).