Skanska expands in wood-flooring market, acquires French market leader
Skanska is acquiring the fast-growing French parquet company Parquets Marty. The seller is the Marty family. Christian Marty will remain as President.
| PRESS RELEASE, FEBRUARY 8, 1999 16/99 Skanska expands in wood-flooring market, acquires French market leader Skanska is acquiring the fast-growing French parquet company Parquets Marty. The seller is the Marty family. Christian Marty will remain as President. Parquets Marty is the market leader in France with about a 30% market share. It holds strong market positions in southern Europe in prefinished multilayer parquet flooring, the fastest-growing market segment in wood flooring. Parquets Marty had sales in 1998 of SEK 700 M, with 530 employees at three locations: the head office and production plant in Cuzorn in southern France near Toulouse, a sawmill in Bourganeuf in France and a sales company, Deko-Marty in Belgium. The main markets outside France are Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. "To be part of the leading European group in wood flooring is an opportunity for us to develop and strengthen our operations long-term, to utilize best practices and to further expand our business by a focused pan-European penetration of the growing distribution channels for Do-it-yourself customers," says Christian Marty. "This represents an important step in the restructuring of the woodflooring sector, an area in which we are the European leader with the Kährs product line, distributed through specialized dealers worldwide. Marty will increase our market shares and give us an entry to new, fast-growing distribution channels, particularly in southern Europe," says Ola Wilhelmsson, President of Nybron AB, the holding company for Skanska's wood-flooring companies. "The strong underlying growth in prefinished wood flooring, replacing such other types of floors as PVC and textile, is the driver behind our decision to take structural steps in this sector. Marty represents a highly supplementary acquisition, adding synergies in markets, distribution and production to our wood-flooring business," says Anders C. Karlsson, President of Skanska Europe.
Danderyd, February 8, 1999 SKANSKA AB
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