A big bang in intralogistics - KION buys Dematic

Dematic is a leading international provider of state-of-the-art integrated automation technology, software and services to optimize supply chains and meet customer needs around material handling automation. The portfolio of products and systems includes automated guided vehicles, palletizers, storage and picking equipment including automated storage systems, sortation systems and conveyor systems, a leading integrated software platform and automation technologies.

The company has grown by more than twelve percent annually since 2013. In the 2015 calendar year, it generated revenue of around USD 1.8 billion and an adjusted EBIT of USD 166 million. Dematic employs almost 6,000 logistics experts - including over 3,000 engineers for software development, research and development, engineering services, project management and customer service. Dematic has more than 100 locations in 22 countries.

Over the past twelve months, the KION Group had already begun to build a strong position as a provider of automated system solutions with the acquisition of Egemin Automation and Retrotech in order to make further progress in this attractive and growing market. "With the acquisition of Dematic, we are significantly changing and expanding what the KION Group is and does - for further profitable growth in a rapidly changing industry and digitalized world," said Gordon Riske, CEO of the KION Group. "We are becoming a unique provider of products, solutions and services. Like no other in our industry, we can now seamlessly accompany every customer on their journey towards Industry 4.0 and Intralogistics 4.0, worldwide."

"This transaction will fundamentally change our industry. Together, KION Group and Dematic will design and deliver solutions that better enable our customers to respond to dynamic demand," said Dematic CEO Ulf Henriksson. "With a shared vision and clear commitment to research and development, together we will focus on superior customer solutions, accompanied by significant investments in this area. Together, both companies are defining a new era in material handling solutions."

"The entire KION Group Supervisory Board is very pleased about the merger of KION Group and Dematic and fully supports this landmark transaction, which is another milestone in the implementation of Strategy 2020," said John Feldmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG. "Together, KION Group and Dematic will now be in an even better position to offer their customers around the world the most suitable products and solutions the market has to offer."

Upon completion of the transaction, Dematic will be integrated into the KION Group. The company will form a fifth operating unit, which will also include Egemin Automation and Retrotech. This future operating unit will be led by Ulf Henriksson as President. The transaction will initially be financed by a bridge loan of EUR 3 billion. red