Strategic Value Partners invests €200 million in Bjelin Group

HELSINGBORG, Sweden, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Strategic Value Partners, LLC (together with its affiliates, "SVP"), a global alternative investment firm with approximately $19 billion of assets under management, and Bjelin Group today announced the signing of an agreement whereby funds managed by SVP will make a €200 million preferred equity investment in Bjelin Group to facilitate its long-term growth ambitions.

Bjelin Group AB is fully owned by the Pervan family and its assets comprise a 51% ownership stake in Välinge Group and a 100% ownership stake in Bjelin Industries. 49% of the shares of Välinge Group are owned by KIRKBI Invest A/S and Välinge Group management.

Välinge Group has two business segments. A licensing business for flooring and furniture applications (Välinge Innovation AB) and an industrial business with large scale production of flooring with Woodura® surface technology and furniture in Sweden and Croatia. Bjelin Industries is a veneer, flooring and furniture manufacturing business with production facilities in Croatia.

Bjelin Group AB will acquire all shares in Välinge's industrial business, which will be merged with Bjelin Industries. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2025, pending customary closing conditions and governmental approval. Funds managed by SVP will make a €200 million preferred equity investment in Bjelin Group to finance this acquisition and provide capital for additional major investments in Woodura® and veneer production with the aim to create a world leading sustainable wood flooring company. The Pervan family will maintain an ownership stake of 97% in Bjelin Group AB.

Välinge Innovation AB, which is a leading R&D, IP and licensing company, mainly related to flooring and furniture technology, anticipates that it will seek a public listing at the appropriate time as the potential high growth of Woodura® flooring is expected to benefit Välinge's license revenues.

"Our partnership with SVP is more than a financial investment. Bjelin Industries has a key relationship with SVP's portfolio company, Pfleiderer, a leading manufacturer of high-quality wood-based products including HDF which is used as a core in our Woodura® flooring, laminates for kitchen, furniture, and construction applications. We are excited about the potential to expand the collaboration between Pfleiderer and Bjelin with a wide range of potential commercial and technical cooperation opportunities. Fredrik Alfredsson, who has a long international experience within the flooring business, will be appointed CEO of Bjelin Group," said Darko Pervan, Chairman and founder of Bjelin Group.

Brian Himot, Head of Structured Capital at SVP, said: "Over the past 30 years, Darko Pervan has built a leading IP licensing business and set the foundations to create a market leading industrial manufacturing business. We are delighted to be partnering with an entrepreneur of his standing at a key moment for the development of the manufacturing business. SVP has developed expertise in these types of partnership-oriented investments with founders and family offices. We look forward to working closely with the Pervan family to drive value for the business."

"During the past 7 years we have been involved in large scale Woodura® production, and a major part of our license revenues have been invested to develop and commercialize this sustainable and competitive flooring technology. Välinge and Bjelin have invested about €500 million to build large-scale production and marketing capabilities and to secure the oak material which is used as a surface in floors with Woodura® technology. This has provided a lot of new knowledge and patents. Our work to scale up the technology is now complete, and we are convinced that our industrial group combined with Bjelin Industries will be very successful.  We believe that this will increase our license revenues and will give a very good long-term return on our investment," said Niclas Håkansson, CEO of Välinge Innovation AB.

Citi and Nordea acted as joint placement agents. SVP was advised by Kirkland and Ellis, Schjødt and Wolf Theiss as legal counsel. Bjelin Group was advised by Mannheimer Swartling as legal counsel.

The Woodura® word mark and logo are registered trademarks owned by Välinge Innovation AB and any use of such marks is under license.

About SVP

SVP is a global alternative investment firm that focuses on special situations, private equity, opportunistic credit and financing opportunities. The firm uses a combination of sourcing, financial and operational expertise to unlock value in its portfolio companies. Today SVP manages approximately $19 billion in assets under management, and since inception, has invested more than $50 billion of capital, including more than $18 billion in Europe. The firm, established by Victor Khosla in 2001, has over 200 employees, including more than 100 investment professionals, across its main offices in Greenwich (CT) and London, and a presence in Tokyo. Learn more at www.svpglobal.com

Contact:
Greenbrook
James Madsen / Ksenia Galouchko
SVP@greenbrookadvisory.com