SAF-HOLLAND (“SAF-HOLLAND”), one of the world’s leading suppliers of trailer and truck components, has acquired IMS Limited, Shepshed, England, from its existing exclusive distributor IMS Group. The purchase price is in the low single-digit million-euro range. The company will be included in the consolidated financial statements of the SAF-HOLLAND Group from April 2022.
IMS Limited currently employs 19 people. The acquisition strengthens SAF-HOLLAND’s market position in the UK and Ireland and aims to further expand its market share in this important region.
“Proximity and direct access to our end customers are the decisive success factors in the transport and logistics industry. The established customer base offers us an ideal starting point to serve the British and Irish market with our entire product portfolio even more comprehensively in the future”, Alexander Geis, CEO of SAF-HOLLAND SE, explains the reasons for the acquisition.
IMS Limited is a provider of sustainable, efficient, competitive and innovative solutions for the transport industry which distributes the Group’s own quality brands SAF-HOLLAND and SAUER Quality Parts, in the UK and Ireland. SAF-HOLLAND has been directly active in the UK with telematics and connectivity solutions through its subsidiary Axscend Ltd. since 2018. The acquisition will enable SAF-HOLLAND to realise synergies through a coherent customer approach with an extensive product portfolio and additionally the expansion of the aftermarket business.
Christoph Guenter, President of the EMEA region, says: “With the acquisition of the British activities of our distribution partner IMS Group, we are securing our business in the British Isles in the long term. By insourcing the sales activities, we are also increasing our share of the value chain. The resulting business potential in the aftermarket business is also important for us.”