AURELIUS subsidiary Conaxess Trade continues its growth path through acquisition of Swedish Movement Group

- Movement is a leading Swedish sales, marketing and distribution company for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) that offers both field sales services and full-service distribution

- Strategic add-on acquisition significantly strengthens Conaxess Trade Sweden in field sales, in-store placement and full-service distribution

- Add-ons as a strategic element to strengthen AURELIUS portfolio companies

Munich (Germany) / Sundbyberg (Sweden), February 10, 2021 - The Conaxess Trade Group, an AURELIUS Equity Opportunities (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8) portfolio company, acquires Swedish Movement Group () from private shareholders. Conaxess Trade Group is an exclusive distributor of FMCG products to large-scale retail organizations in six European countries with a particularly strong presence in the Nordics. Add-on acquisitions have been an important part of Conaxess' strategy to grow its market presence in the region.

Movement, based in Malmö (Sweden), is one of Sweden's leading distributors of FMCG products delivering well-known brands to grocery, convenience stores, sport & leisure channels and other food service players. The company provides a customized offer in logistics and distribution, marketing, key account management and sales support. With more than 90 years of experience in the market and based on Movement's strong market performance, high appreciation from current brand owners and strong sales forces, this acquisition strengthens the business of Conaxess Trade Sweden in field sales and in-store placement in particular. The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.

"Movement is a perfect addition to our Swedish business. The combined company is a leading player focused on the services to our brand partners and customers with very talented and highly skilled employees. I am convinced that this transaction will further drive sales and distribution for Conaxess in the region and will make us even more successful in the Swedish market," said Uwe Thellmann, CEO of Conaxess Trade.

"I am very excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with the new colleagues to deliver even better services to our existing and new brand partners and customers. We are a perfect match for the services provided to our partners and a business with a stable foundation to deliver, both today and in the future," added Jennifer Friman, CEO of Movement.

The acquisition of Movement, which is still subject to clearance from the competition authorities, is the third add-on acquisition of Conaxess Trade Group since becoming part of AURELIUS in January 2016. The previous acquisitions have been integrated successfully and provide significant value to all of Conaxess Trade's stake holders. The pipeline for further promising add-on acquisitions is well filled.

"At AURELIUS, we follow a very entrepreneurial approach that is designed to build the companies we invest in. Hence add-on acquisitions have always been an essential part of positioning our portfolio companies on successful growth paths and this trend will be even more prevalent going forward. There have been several cases where successful add-on strategies combined with our hands-on operational approach made the difference in increasing value for all stakeholders. Currently we are in advanced negotiations to support the growth strategy of our existing portfolio companies and I am confident that we will see further add-on acquisitions soon," added Matthias Täubl, CEO of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities.
 

ABOUT AURELIUS

AURELIUS Group is a pan-European investment group with offices in Munich, London, Stockholm, Madrid and Amsterdam. Since it was founded in 2006, AURELIUS has grown from a local turnaround investor to an international multi-asset manager.

AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8, ticker symbol: AR4) is the listed entity within AURELIUS Group and focuses on investing in mid-market corporate carve-outs and platform build-ups in a broad range of industries. With a team of approximately 100 in-house operations experts, AURELIUS actively supports its portfolio companies in their long-term development. AURELIUS Equity Opportunities currently has 26 portfolio companies located across Europe which employ around 13,000 people and generate annual revenues of approx. EUR 3.0 billion. The shares of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities are traded on all German stock exchanges.

AURELIUS Group also operates in the areas of growth capital, real estate opportunities and debt. AURELIUS Growth Investments invests in leveraged buyouts usually in succession or corporate spin-off situations. AURELIUS Real Estate Opportunities focuses on real estate investments, the value of which can be increased in the long-term by means of active management. AURELIUS Finance Company is an alternative direct lender, focused on providing flexible debt solutions to small and mid-market firms across Europe.

With its group charity AURELIUS Refugee Initiative e.V., AURELIUS provides comprehensive support for refugees on their way towards a better life.

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About Conaxess Trade Group

Conaxess Trade is an exclusive distributor of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) to large-scale retail organizations and alternative sales channels. Conaxess (former: Valora Trade) proudly represents some 300 prestigious brand owners of branded food and non-food goods. The Conaxess Trade Group maintains distribution organizations in all Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland) as well as in the German-speaking countries (Austria and Switzerland). Conaxess is a long-term partner providing regional market access to FMCG products for its customers and business partners and also offering comprehensive, tailor-made services across the entire value chain - from market intelligence and key account management to trade marketing and category management all the way through to purchasing, logistics, warehousing and point-of-sale services. Since 2016 Conaxess Trade is owned by AURELIUS, which is one of the leading European investment groups, with a long-term investment horizon and offices in Munich, London, Madrid, Amsterdam and Stockholm.

About Movement Group

Movement Group is an exclusive distributor in Sweden of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) offering both, field sales services and full-service distribution services. It represents about 60 well-known brand owners and distributes these to a wide range of sales areas including grocery stores, convenience stores, sport & leisure channels and in the field of foodservice. Given its extensive market experience of over 90 years and its dedicated team, Movement today is one of the key players in the field of FMCG distribution in Sweden. In 2017, Movement Group acquired Ancrona AB, strengthening its position in sales and marketing services. Similar to Conaxess Trade, Movement Group offers comprehensive, tailor-made services across the entire value chain to its brand owners. Before the acquisition by AURELIUS, it was owned by private individuals.