Brand Factory and Ineko join forces to become undisputed Nordic leader in visual communications

Scope Growth II LP (Scope) and Accent Equity 2012 LP (Accent) have agreed that Brand Factory and Ineko will join forces and that Scope sells its shareholding in Brand Factory. Accent will be the main owner in the new group and with current management as minority shareholders. Brand Factory and Ineko are both active in the fields of visual communications with combined sales of SEK 1.3 billion in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. The transaction is conditional on approval from relevant competition authorities.

Brand Factory and Ineko are both active in the field of visual communications with complementary operational focus. Brand Factory operates in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Estonia while Ineko has focused its operation on Sweden. The companies have complementary customer offerings, constituting a good platform for cross sales. The combined group will achieve a stronger market position as well as synergies in several areas. Both companies’ head offices are located in Stockholm.

Scope invested in Brand Factory in 2010 with the ambition to create the Nordic leader in corporate, trademark and product branding through further consolidation of the industry. The company is today the clear Nordic market leader within its industry with annual revenues of approximately SEK 850m. Brand Factory’s business is divided into six product groups; Branding, Communications, Industrial Applications, Retail & Display, Store Interior and Digital Signage. The Group currently has six production facilities in Sweden (Farsta, Linköping), Finland (Espoo, Hyvinkää), Denmark (Måløv) and Estonia (Tallinn).

Accent acquired Ineko, a leading communications production company in the Nordic countries, in 2013 with the ambition to create a leader in visual communications through acquisitions as well as strategic operative investments. Ineko handles everything from the initial idea to the finished product within its market offerings: Creative, Production and Instore. Ineko has production facilities in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Falun and the customers include a long list of public organisations and larger corporates within a broad range of sectors such as retail, advertising agencies, financial institutions and consumer brands.

“During Scope’s ownership, Brand Factory has generated strong revenue growth and the company has carried through six add-on acquisitions and has a geographical presence in all Nordic countries with a strong one-stop-shop product and services offering and a platform in place to achieve scale benefits and acquisitive growth.” says Sophie Hagströmer partner at Scope Capital Advisory AB, advisor to Scope Growth II L.P.

“I look forward to joining forces with Ineko. This is a natural step as these companies have been looking at each other for a long time” says Peter Follin, current CEO of Brand Factory and appointed CEO of the new group. “The combined offering of Ineko and Brand Factory, in terms of creative services, IT solutions, production capacity and sector specific know how, will be unmatched in the Nordic market.”

”Over the last years we have taken the strategic direction to increase our focus at Ineko on large format productions and retail customers. Together with Brand Factory we will take a big step forward in this development, while also adding potential to further develop all of our other core services.” Says Joakim Bergman, CEO of Ineko and appointed deputy director of the new group.

For more information, please contact:
Sophie Hagströmer, Partner Scope Capital Advisory, +46 70189 62 11, sophie.hagstromer@scope.se
Peter Follin, CEO Brand Factory, +46 70492 64 09, peter.follin@brandfactory.se
Joakim Bergman, CEO Ineko, +46 70519 64 59, joakim.bergman@ineko.se