Viken, Sweden—KIRKBI, the holding and investment company of the Kirk Kristiansen family, has signed an agreement to acquire KKR’s 49.8% stake in Välinge alongside the founding Pervan family that via Pervanovo Invest AB will maintain its majority ownership of 50.2%. The partnership with KIRKBI aims to strengthen Välinge’s position as a leading industrial R&D company and flooring producer.
“I would like to thank KKR for the support they have provided us, which allowed us to unlock investments behind new technologies,” said Darko Pervan, CEO of Pervanovo Invest AB and founder of Välinge. “In the past months, several investors have shown great interest in acquiring KKR’s stake but KIRKBI was our preferred choice since they are a family-owned, longer term investor with an excellent reputation. KIRKBI has extensive expertise in industrial operations, brand building and marketing and is the perfect partner for our new flooring business. This partnership will create a long-term foundation for the company to take the next step in its development of large scale production and marketing of powder-based Woodura and Nadura floors.”
Välinge, based in Viken, Sweden, draws its roots from the deep Swedish knowledge and expertise in wood engineering and technology. The company and its employees have a long track record of developing innovative and disruptive technologies such as laminate flooring, floor and furniture locking systems such as 5G and Threespine allowing for easy assembly, and Nadura and Woodura—the new powder based flooring material. Välinge currently holds around 1,800 patents and has expanded its IP portfolio significantly over the past five years, and may obtain over 10,000 patents from its existing applications.