Patricia Industries to provide funding for the acquisition of Joulin, a French maker of vacuum grippers and gantry robots, by Piab, a provider of gripping, lifting and moving solutions

Patricia Industries to provide funding for the acquisition of Joulin, a French maker of vacuum grippers and gantry robots, by Piab, a provider of gripping, lifting and moving solutions

(PRESS RELEASE) STOCKHOLM, 20-Apr-2022 — /EuropaWire/ — Investor AB (STO: INVE-B), a Swedish investment and holding company founded in 1916, has announced that Patricia Industries, an investor with focus on the development of wholly-owned companies with long-term growth potential and part of Investor AB, will provide partly funding with equity for the acquisition of Joulin, a French maker of vacuum grippers and gantry robots, by Piab, a leading provider of gripping, lifting and moving solutions.

In 2021, Joulin’s total sales amounted to approximately SEK 150m, with profitability in line with the Piab Group. The total consideration amounts to approximately SEK 560m on a cash and debt-free basis, which will be funded partly with equity from Patricia Industries.

“Growing our great platform companies through add-on acquisitions is a key priority for Patricia Industries, and I am pleased to see the companies executing on the strong pipelines of investment opportunities. We expect to continue to allocate significant capital to add-on acquisitions going forward”, comments Investor President and CEO Johan Forssell.

“We are excited about the acquisition of Joulin as it further strengthens Piab’s position as a leader within automated gripping and moving solutions. We see a strong strategic fit and look forward to working together with the company to further develop the businesses”, says Christian Cederholm, Head of Patricia Industries.

The acquisition is expected to be closed during the second quarter 2022.

About Patricia Industries
Patricia Industries is a long-term owner that invests in companies and works to develop each company to its full potential. Patricia Industries is a part of the industrial holding company Investor AB, whose main owner is the Wallenberg Foundations.

About Piab
Piab evolves automation, creating sustainable solutions for a safer and more efficient workplace in an automated world. Piab provides gripping skills to robots, intelligent flow to materials, and lifting power to humans. Piab’s vision is an automated world where no resources are wasted, and no humans are injured. With sales of c. 1.9 BSEK, more than 900 employees and 4 divisions, Piab is a global organisation, serving customers in more than 100 countries from a network of subsidiaries and distributors.

About Joulin
Founded in 1959 in Étampes, France, Joulin develops, produces and provides vacuum grippers and wood handling machines (gantry robots), primarily targeting the sawn and engineered wood niche of the automated wood handling market as well as typical packaging applications.