EY advises Kesko on acquisition of Danish builders’ merchant Davidsen

Kesko enters the Danish market by acquiring one of the largest builders’ merchants in Denmark, Davidsen Koncernen A/S.

On August 23, 2023, it was announced that Kesko will enter the Danish market by acquiring Danish builders’ merchant Davidsen Koncernen A/S, which gives it a solid foothold in the local building materials market. It also further advances Kesko’s objective of strengthening its market position in Northern Europe. The Davidsen family will remain as a 10% minority shareholder in the company.

The Davidsen acquisition is Kesko’s first step into Denmark’s sizable €5.7 billion building and home improvement market, which is more than 1.5 times the size of the Finnish market. In 2022, the company’s net sales totaled approximately €560 million (DKK 4.2 bn), with an EBITDA of €27 million and an EBIT €23 million (excl. IFRS 16 impact). The company has 23 stores in mainly Southern Denmark and some 850 employees.

EY provided financial, tax, commercial and technology due diligence services to Kesko during the transaction process by deploying multi-discipline advisory teams from Denmark and Finland with experience in the building materials and wider consumer space.

The completion of the acquisition is subject to EU Commission’s merger approval and fulfilment of certain other conditions. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024 at the latest.

More information can be found on Kesko's press release.

Below you can find a selection of EY's recent deal alerts and you can also find a more extensive list on our Strategy and Transactions page.