Fresks Group was acquired by Kesko

Kesko, the Finnish retailing conglomerate with its head office in Katajanokka, Helsinki, announced that it acquired Fresks Group, a leading Swedish building material chain in Northern Sweden.

The financial details were not disclosed. The acquisition of Fresks Group was made from actual owners Litorina, Oscarson Invest and Fresk's management team. Litorina bought the majority package in 2016.

Fresks Group is today part of XL-BYGG and consists of a number of strong local brands such as Fresks, Östergyllen, Gärdin & Persson, Urban Strålins Byggvaror and Färingsö Trä. The acquisition is a step in Kesko's growth strategy and strengthens the market position in the Swedish market, primarily against professional customers in construction and technical trade.

Fresks Group, founded in 1862 and led by CEO Leif Lindholm, has a strong market position in Sweden with 33 stores and about 500 employees, which primarily serve the professional customer segment in construction. Net sales (pro forma) for Fresks Group amounted to SEK 2,105bn ($230M) and comparable pro forma EBITDA amounted to SEK 183 million in 2018.

Kesko is one of the leading players in construction and technical trade in northern Europe, with operations in eight countries. In 2018, retail sales (pro forma) for the division Construction and Technical Trade in the Northern Europe region amounted to EUR 4.9 billion.