Verdane V sells online rims and tyres specialist Bythjul.com to Mobivia Groupe
Stockholm — French vehicle servicing group Mobivia Groupe has acquired Nordic online rim and tyre specialist Bythjul.com (BytHjul) from Verdane Capital V (Verdane V). During Verdane V’s ownership, BytHjul has grown revenues fivefold.
Bythjul was founded in Sweden in 2002 and is today the largest Nordic online tire and rim company, providing consumers products from the biggest manufacturers such as Nokian, Michelin, Pirelli and Goodyear.
”We have benefitted tremendously from Verdane Capital Advisors’ expertise in e-commerce, which has helped us accelerate Bythjul’s development,” comments Torkel Hallander, CEO of Bythjul. “We have increased turnover greatly and grown into the largest Nordic online tire and rim company. Now that we embark on a new leg of our journey with Mobivia Groupe, we will continue to provide excellent service to Nordic clients.”
Verdane V became an owner of Bythjul in 2006. During Verdane V’s ownership, Bythjul has expanded from purely Swedish operations to Finland, Denmark and Norway. Over the same period, the number of employees have grown from 8 to 25 and revenues have grown nearly fivefold.
”Bythjul has, like other e-commerce companies that Verdane funds have supported, revolutionized its industry and speeded up the move from offline to online. The company has taken a leading position in the Nordic market with a focus on value adding services, reasonable prices, fast delivery and great local customer service,” comments Pål Malmros, Partner at Verdane Capital Advisors. “With Mobivia Groupe’s backing, we are confident that Bythjul’s strong development will continue”.
“By investing in Bythjul, we aim to build our skills, boost our share of the e-commerce market in Europe and enhance synergies between the Group’s various brands. Bythjul has a strong set of assets which complement our own,” says Olivier Mélis, Member of the Executive Committee at Mobivia Groupe in charge of development.
”With an industry actor like Mobivia Groupe as a partner, the future opportunities for profit and growth are excellent,” concludes Torkel Hallander, CEO and partner at Bythjul.
We have benefitted tremendously from Verdane Capital Advisors’ expertise in e-commerce, which has helped us accelerate Bythjul’s development.
About Verdane and Verdane Capital Advisors
Verdane Capital Advisors is the Nordic market’s largest and most successful independent manager of secondary direct funds. Verdane funds have €700m in committed capital and are focused on buying Nordic portfolios of direct investments in attractive sectors such as energy, ICT and general industries. The funds will also consider investments directly in selected growth-stage companies.
Since 2003, the funds advised by Verdane Capital Advisors have acquired 22 portfolios with stakes in over 250 companies. Verdane has invested in companies such as Mathem, BytHjul, Resman and Wireless Maingate. Former holdings include Coding Technologies, Chipcon, DIBS, Nacre, Reslink, Reslab and Tradedoubler. For more information, please visit www.verdanecapital.com
About Bythjul
Bythjul.com was founded in 2002 and is today the largest Nordic online tire and rim company. Bythjul.com provides the latest products from the biggest manufacturers like Nokian, Michelin, Pirelli, Goodyear, Continental, SVF, Ace, Enzo, Dotz and many more. Assisted by certified tire workshops in Sweden’s largest cities, Bythjul.com can guarantee a high level of service. Bythjul.com has over 25 employees and annual revenues of approx. 200 MSEK. The company’s headquarters are located in Stockholm and the company has a presence in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Bythjul.com was voted Sweden’s best online tire store in 2012 by Prisjakt’s customers and is certified by Secure E-Commerce. See www.bythjul.com (in Swedish).
About Mobivia Groupe
Mobivia Groupe has more than 10,000 employees in six businesses and 13 companies united by a shared vision: making people sustainably mobile. Mobivia Groupe is the European leader in multi-make vehicle maintenance and equipment with Norauto, Auto 5, Midas, Carter-Cash, Synchro Diffusion and Oxyo-pneus.fr. Through its development fund, Via-ID, Mobivia Groupe also develops new activities to make a contribution to more responsible, more sustainable mobility (car sharing, green mobilities, connected vehicles). For information about the Mobivia Groupe, see www.mobiviagroupe.com
