KIRKBI to Acquire a Minority stake in Välinge Group from KKR

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, a Swedish industrial R&D company. The founding Pervan family via Pervanovo Invest AB will maintain its majority ownership of 50.2%. The partnership with KIRKBI aims to further strengthen Välinge’s position as a leading industrial R&D company and flooring producer.

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. A common thread and guiding principle of all of Välinge’s innovations is to develop products that are better performing at a lower cost with a core focus on benefit to the end user. 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.