Over the past years, Linas Matkasse has also established in Norway and most recently in the Netherlands. To strengthen the company for further expansion plans in both existing and new markets, the company has taken Herkules on board – an investor with proven growth success in entrepreneur driven consumer companies. Together, Linas Matkasse’s new shareholder group will take the company to the next level.
“I am extremely happy that Herkules has chosen to become shareholder of Linas Matkasse. During the past couple of months we’ve had fruitful discussions with a number of national and international potential investors. Herkules Capital will add valuable knowledge to the company, which will enable Linas Matkasse to continue to expand even more aggressively”, says founder and CEO Niklas Aronsson.
Niklas Aronsson founded Linas Matkasse in 2008 together with his sister Lina Gebäck. In 2011 the company brought in new shareholders; Swedish Creandum and German Acton Capital.
“Linas Matkasse has a fantastic financial and brand-rate history and tremendous growth potential in the Nordics and beyond. The company’s strong innovation skills, corporate culture and strong management team impress me greatly. That’s the reason why we invested in Linas Matkasse to contribute to take the company to the next level. A next level that that may well mean a future IPO“, says Sverre Flåskjer, Managing Partner, Herkules Capital.
Herkules was till July the owner of the successful Nordic coffee shop chain Espresso House. Herkules’ acquired minority share implies a broadening of the shareholder group. All existing shareholders remain in the company.
“Linas Matkasse has already from start proved that it’s possible to create a hyper growth company with profitability in a low-margin industry by radically changing the consumer’s purchase habits and filling a market need“, says Johan Brenner, General Partner, Creandum.
Sebastian Wossagk, Managing Partner at Acton Capital confirms: “The company has over the years, despite the rapid expansion, generated ever-increasing profits. We are very positive about Herkules entry into the shareholder group and look forward to continued mutual success“.
The transaction is carried out in July and will be closed in September.
For more information please contact:
Niklas Aronsson, CEO and founder, Linas Matkasse
Niklas.aronsson@linasmatkasse.se
Johan Brenner, General Partner, Creandum
+46 709 50 87 98
Sebastian Wossagk, Managing Partner at Acton Capital
+49 89 2421 8870
Sverre Flåskjer, Managing Partner, Herkules Capital
+47 48 11 04 66
Linas Matkasse (www.linasmatkasse.se) with an annual sale of over 1 billion SEK has since start distributed more than 60 million servings. Since 2013, the company is present in Norway and in 2015 also started operations in Holland. Linas Matkasse was founded in 2008 in Sweden by the siblings Niklas Aronsson and Lina Gebäck who are still the largest shareholders in the company. Other owners are the Swedish Creandum, German Acton Capital and Norwegian Hercules.
Creandum (www.creandum.com)is the leading Nordic based venture capital firm investing in innovative and fast-growing technology companies within consumer, software and hardware industries. The firm has over €260M under management and has over the last decade invested in more than 45 companies including Spotify, Tictail, Edgeware, iZettle, Vivino and Videoplaza.
Acton Capital Partners (www.actoncapital.com) is a partner-led growth equity investor in internet and mobile-based consumer-oriented businesses. Acton’s investment focus is B2C and B2smallB oriented business models in e-commerce, online marketplaces, e-services and digital media. The Munich based partnership invests worldwide, with a strong emphasis on Europe. Funding comes from international private and institutional investors. Past and present investments include AbeBooks, Elitepartner, Etsy, HolidayCheck, MyOptique Group, mytheresa.com, OnVista, windeln.de and zooplus.
Herkules (www.herkules.no) is a leading Private Equity firm in Norway and has raised funds with committed capital totalling approximately NOK 15 billion. We invest in companies located in the Nordic region, primarily in Norway, and acquire majority interests in established businesses with strong growth potential. We have a proven experience in working in partnership with existing shareholders. Our approach to ownership is industrial and long term, and is built on fundamental respect for the history, culture and experience within each individual company.