Clearwater advises the owners of Ropox A/S on the sale to AddLife AB

Transaction

Ropox A/S sold to AddLife AB

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Role

Adviser to Ropox A/S on the sale to AddLife AB

Sector

Healthcare
Industrial & Chemicals

Region

Denmark

Clearwater has advised the owners of Ropox A/S (Ropox), a leading Danish provider of needs-adapted kitchen and bathroom solutions, on the sale to AddLife AB (AddLife), a listed Swedish medtech company active in several niche segments, primarily aimed at the healthcare sector.

Ropox develops, designs and manufactures accessible kitchens, bathroom furniture, and aids, as well as some original equipment manufacturing (OEM). The business has a strong reputation for high quality and innovative handicap solutions for people with disabilities and their helpers.

The company is represented internationally through its own sales organisation in key markets and a network of distributors. In Denmark, Ropox mainly markets and sells its products to municipalities, via housing adaptation, as well as through project-based sales to hospitals, health facilities and rehab clinics. Ropox has over 70 employees and a turnover of approx. €8.6m (DKK 65 m).

AddLife is a Swedish operator in the life science space, offering healthcare related products and solutions to both the private and public sectors. The AddLife group has approximately 1,000 employees and an annual turnover of approx. €386.9m (DKK 2.9 bn). The group is listed on the NASDAQ Stockholm stock exchange.

Through the acquisition of Ropox, AddLife will gain a stronger position within the market for needs-adapted kitchen and bathroom furnishings while expanding its geographical markets.

For the previous owners of Ropox and clients of Clearwater, the sale to AddLife is an optimal solution to strengthen its future market position and further develop the business by realising a significant number of obvious synergies with AddLife’s related subsidiaries. At the same time, the sale secures the future of the employees and the business to continue operating in Næstved.

We are very satisfied with the outcome of the completed transaction with AddLife. We believe that we have found a new owner that can carry the business forward in the best possible manner, while securing our employees, management team, the local operations in Næstved, and, last but not least, the future of Ropox. Throughout the transaction process, Clearwater provided clear guidance on many strategic and financial aspects – more than we could imagine before such a process – which has been highly valuable and a key differentiator to the successful outcome. The Clearwater team has been responsible for the entire process and demonstrated great understanding of our success criteria along the way. Together with Clearwater, we found an optimal solution, transaction structure and terms – even in a period where Covid-19 impacted the markets, our financials, the investor landscape and society in general.
Tommy Jensen (CEO) and Poul Erik Pedersen (CTO), Co-owners, Ropox

It has been a pleasure working with the owners of Ropox and to have found a solution with AddLife during an ongoing pandemic. Ropox is a strong business case and the company’s innovative solutions truly improve the lives of many people with special needs and their helpers. The partnership with AddLife is optimal since the two parties are complimentary to one another in many aspects and we expect them to realise synergies within both sales, product development and manufacturing. We congratulate both parties and look forward to following their continued development.
Stig Windeløv, Director at Clearwater