The two companies have entered into an agreement under which Boels will make a cash offer to purchase all of the shares in Cramo that are not already owned by Cramo or any of its subsidiaries.
Cramo’s shareholders will be offered €13.25 for each share – a premium of about 31% on last week’s price – valuing Cramo at approximately €592m.
Cramo directors are recommending that shareholders accept the offer, which is expected to expire in the first half of January 2020.
Both companies operate in several countries across Europe. Boels has more than 4,200 employees and over 450 depots in 11 countries. Cramo generated revenue of €632m in 2018, serving approximately 150,000 customers through about 300 depots, also across 11 countries. The combination of the two would result in combined annual revenues of approximately €1.25bn.
Boels said that the enlarged group would be well diversified in terms of customers, business and geographic mix. The combination of Cramo’s Scandinavian and Central European business with Boels’ existing network in the Benelux region as well as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK is seen as creating a pan-European business with increased scale and resilience. Boels added that the combined business would have the opportunity to integrate operations in Central Europe and capitalise on mutual best practices in terms of fleet range, logistics and customer service levels.
Boels CEO Pierre Boels said: “Our vision is to build a European leader in the equipment rental market. We have a strong conviction in the strategic combination of Boels and Cramo. The combined company will be a leading player in Europe with a business in 17 countries, and a top-three position in 12 of those. It will be well diversified in terms of customers, business and geographies. We combine rental equipment, data, safety and expertise to improve customer efficiency. Our companies know each other well and have a good fit both strategically and culturally. We share the same strategy, focusing on building scale locally to secure leading positions in the countries where we operate. And we both hold our employees in high regard. Boels appreciates the unanimous recommendation by the board of Cramo. We look forward to building a shared future together.”
Earlier this year Cramo spun off its modular buildings business, Adapteo, into a separate company.
Veli-Matti Reinikkala, chairman of the board of directors of Cramo, said: “During the last years, we have worked hard to create value for our shareholders. The demerger and spin-off of Adapteo was an important step to create two independently focused and attractive companies, resulting also in released shareholder value. For stand-alone Cramo, this has created the opportunity to take part in the ongoing and important consolidation in Europe. Boels is in that regard an excellent owner of and partner to Cramo. We also believe that for our existing shareholders, the offer price represents an attractive cash premium and is a reflection of the trust Boels has in Cramo as a company and the strategy moving forward as one company. Taking into consideration all aspects for all stakeholders, the board of directors of Cramo has unanimously decided to recommend that shareholders of Cramo accept the tender offer.”
Cramo CEO Leif Gustafsson added: “Over the past year all our employees have worked hard to position Cramo in the best possible way for the future. The demerger of our company was an important milestone in creating a pure equipment rental focused Cramo. We have now reshaped the company, launched a new strategy, taken the right steps to improve performance and set the foundation to differentiate ourselves from the competition. This work has paid off. Now the combination with Boels, which we respect a lot, gives us the opportunity to take the next step in our commitment to serving the interests of our clients, employees and other stakeholders. Together with Boels we will make a leap forward to become a European leader in our industry.”
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