Elanders strengthens its offer within sustainable services with the acquisition of ReuseIT
Today, Elanders signed a contract to acquire 70 per cent of the shares in ReuseIT Sweden AB and ReuseIT Finance AB (”ReuseIT”). ReuseIT is a fast-growing company that in 2020 had net sales of nearly MSEK 70 with good profitability. They specialize in purchasing, securely wiping, refurbishing, selling and leasing used IT products. The acquisition makes Elanders a leading actor on the Swedish market. At the same time, it is part of a bigger strategic effort concerning sustainable services on a global level.
With the acquisition of ReuseIT and the previous acquisition of Azalea Global IT AB, Elanders offers new and existing customers one of the market’s strongest offers within Renewed Tech. For customers this means that IT equipment destined to be discarded can instead be securely wiped, restored and sold by Elanders. This prevents corporate secrets and personal data from falling into the wrong hands. Simultaneously, the lives of the products are extended which drastically reduces the environmental impact brought about by the manufacturing of new IT products.
“ReuseIT complements our existing businesses in an excellent way. It is a well-run, structured company where several employees have more than 20 years of experience from recovering used IT equipment. With their knowledge and expertise, we will take giant steps in this area, which benefits Elanders, our customers and society as a whole,” says Magnus Nilsson, President and CEO of Elanders.
The origin of what is now ReuseIT dates back to 1988 and the company now has customers all over Europe. In addition to purchasing and selling used IT equipment, they also run a platform designed for cost-effective leasing of IT products.
“Today, the manufacturing of new IT products is one of our biggest environmental threats. At the same time, there is an increased interest in sustainability and more and more people consider buying used IT equipment an option. The production of one new computer consumes 1.8 tonnes of raw materials like water, chemicals and energy. By extending the life of the existing equipment and reusing it instead of recycling it, we can drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions and material consumption. Our estimate is that in Sweden alone a huge number of computers and mobile phones are unnecessarily recycled every year or, even worse, not even recycled. If we look at the number of units worldwide, the amount is simply staggering. We can truly make a difference here as a part of Elanders”, says Agne Nilsson, one of ReuseIT’s founders.
The global perspective is very important to Elanders. While the latest acquisitions make Elanders a leading actor on a growing and profitable market in Sweden, Magnus Nilsson points to the substantial international growth possibilities.
“Our customer base and infrastructure hand us a unique competitive advantage and a fantastic opportunity to take an active part in the conversion towards a more sustainable and circular society.”
A proof of this is how Elanders, on a global level, offers completely secure handling of all sensitive data and guarantees sustainability every step of the way, which no other company within Renewed Tech does. There is great potential, as well as a growing interest, in these services all over the world.
”It is worth reminding that this is just one area within Life Cycle Management. Our strategy here is clear. We aim to take on a greater responsibility for the entire life cycle of products. There are many products and industries where we, using the same approach, can reduce the environmental impact of companies by developing services that contribute towards negative emissions,” Magnus Nilsson concludes.
The acquisition of ReuseIT is not expected to have any material effect on the result per share for 2021. The purchase price and expenses associated with the acquisition will have a negative cash flow effect of MSEK 40–45 in the first quarter. Elanders has an option to acquire the remaining shares in the company, which can be utilized in 2025.
For further questions, please contact
Magnus Nilsson, President and CEO, telephone: 0
Andréas Wikner, CFO, telephone: 0
This information is information that Elanders AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 14:30 CET on 12 March 2021.
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