5:56 am, October 1, 2024
Lookers owner Global Auto Holdings (GAH) has snapped up a 110-year-old Danish firm’s car importing business for $1.2bn as it extends its reach into Europe.
The deal to buy the £2.2bn turnover KW Bruun Import, as well as its workshop chain, KW Brunn NxT, is said to mark ambitious expansion plans for the firm that bought Lookers last summer.
KW Bruun has importation and distribution rights for Stellantis brands Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel, Fiat, Fiat Pro, Alfa Romeo and Jeep, as well as Mitsubishi in Denmark. It does not operate car dealerships.
Global Auto Holdings said the deal will help it become a ‘key player’ in the European auto industry and will act as a ‘strategic bridgehead’ for further ‘expansion and consolidation’.
Global Auto Holdings was the bidding vehicle of Canadian-based Alpha Auto Group that took Lookers private in a £465.4m debt-funded deal in June last year.
That deal was funded by a consortium of three Canadian banks that stumped up the cash for the group, led by Kuldeep Billan, to swoop on Lookers.
The deal to buy KW Brunn has shocked industry sources in Denmark while the sale is still awaiting approval from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority.
Global Auto Holdings said: ‘With KW Bruun Import and KW Bruun NxT, we have acquired an extremely healthy business with strong management, skilled employees and a competitive Nordic position.
‘We are eager to expand our position in the Nordic region and Europe, both organically and through acquisitions.
‘We are pleased that we are the party that will continue the company’s long-standing activities, and look forward to a Nordic and international growth journey.’
The deal to sell the KW Bruun businesses was tinged with sadness as chairman Anders Karl Brunn died a week before it was announced after an ‘acute and serious illness’.
His daughter, vice chairman Maria Bruun-Lander (pictured with her father above), said: ‘Unfortunately, my father passed away peacefully on Friday, September 20.
‘Despite the deep sorrow, I am pleased that he still managed to experience that the change of ownership became a reality. It meant a lot to him.
‘Over the past few years, my father and I, together with the board of directors and management, have explored and uncovered the possibilities of the future, and that process resulted in our preliminary talks with Global Auto Holdings.’
KW Bruun is a family owned Danish group that was established in 1914 and has five divisions with 900 employees.
The divisions include the car import business, its spare parts business NxT, an investment arm, a classic car collection arm and Classic Car House – a car hotel, workshop and car dealer.
