CAREL entered into a binding agreement to acquire a 82.4% stake in Kiona Holding AS, a leading Norway-based Software as a Service (“SaaS”) provider of prop-tech solutions for energy consumption optimization and building digitalization in retail & industrial refrigeration, public, commercial and multi-residential facilities.
Headquartered in Trondheim (Norway), Kiona was formed in 2021 following the aggregation of 5 synergistic companies boasting top notch software and digital competences: IWMAC (Norway), Egain (Sweden), Cebyc (Norway), Moldeo (Sweden) and Alpha ECO (Switzerland). Today, Kiona is an advanced tech group, a leader in Northern Europe, providing comprehensive SaaS solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of refrigeration systems and buildings through the control and optimization of energy usage.
Kiona counts 17 offices across 8 countries and employs 150 people. Leveraging its well-established footprint in Northern-Europe, the Company already serves 57,000 facilities and food retail stores across Europe.
The acquisition serves as a strategic move to further strengthen CAREL’s positioning as a global leader in the HVAC-R industry, addressing the increasing digitalization and shift towards servitization of the sector.
Francesco Nalini, CEO of the CAREL, commented: “The transaction announced today represents CAREL’s eleventh acquisition since its listing on the Milan stock exchange five years ago and once again confirms our ability to consistently and promptly pursue ambitious growth objectives by external means. Specifically, the acquisition of Kiona, an excellence in its reference sector with strong revenues growth and robust profitability, aligns perfectly with the Group’s strategy to strengthen its position in the digital services sector oriented towards energy efficiency. Furthermore, the combination of the two companies’ know-how, expertise, and human capital is expected to provide both with the opportunity to play a leading role in this market, both in Europe and overseas, opening up new business opportunities in an environment scenario where energy savings represents one of the most significant global challenges of the coming decades”.
