Cargotec Corporation has announced plans to initiate a process to potentially separate its core businesses Kalmar and Hiab into two standalone companies. The company intends to separate Kalmar as a new listed company by means of a partial demerger from Cargotec. According to the company’s Board of Directors, the separation of Kalmar and Hiab could unlock shareholder value by allowing both businesses to pursue sustainable profitable growth opportunities independently.
Cargotec’s planning of the potential partial demerger is intended to take place during 2023, with the potential execution and separate listing of Kalmar on Nasdaq Helsinki taking place in 2024. Cargotec has also announced that MacGregor, which is currently one of the three business areas of Cargotec, will not be part of Cargotec’s portfolio in the future. Therefore, in parallel, Cargotec’s focus remains to continue looking for a solution for MacGregor during 2024. If the planned actions are completed, there would be three separate businesses, Kalmar, Hiab, and MacGregor.
The planned partial demerger is expected to improve Kalmar and Hiab’s business performance through higher agility, decisiveness, and stronger management focus. In addition, as two standalone businesses, the companies could achieve faster organic and inorganic growth thanks to a more tailored capital allocation strategy and flexible access to external capital. The Board of Directors believes that the planned transaction would increase the attractiveness of the companies and facilitate fair valuation of the businesses.
“The separation of Kalmar and Hiab would be the logical next step in the growth journey. The Board is convinced that the separation would unlock shareholder value by allowing both businesses to pursue sustainable profitable growth opportunities independently,” says Cargotec’s Chair of Board Jaakko Eskola.
“Kalmar and Hiab serve different customers and have limited cross selling synergies. Both businesses have ambitious growth plans and we are now assessing if those would be better served as separate standalone businesses. Kalmar has recently gone through a major transformation to become a more focused business and has an excellent foundation in place to continue to grow independently. Hiab has a proven track record of profitable growth and M&A,” says Cargotec’s President and CEO Casimir Lindholm.
The Board of Directors will continue assessing possibilities to separate Kalmar and Hiab and will only recommend the planned transaction if upon final assessment there is evidence that enhanced shareholder value can be attained.
