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Global Auto Holdings, the owner of Lookers in the UK, is pushing further into Europe with plans to purchase to buy Danish distributor KW Brun (KWB).
KWB is one of the largest Automotive Distributors in the Nordics with operations focused across Denmark and Sweden. The wall Street Journal reported the value of the business at $1.2bn.
The acquisition remains subject to regulatory and some OEM approvals. It is anticipated that the acquisition will be completed prior to calendar year end 2024.
KWB imports and distributes new vehicles and OEM branded spare parts for Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Mitsubishi in Denmark and Sweden.
It also has additional brands, including certain Chinese OEMs, within Denmark.
KWB operates under long term contracts with its respective OEM partners and distributes into a captive, primarily third party owned dealership network spanning over 210 dealerships throughout Denmark and Sweden.
Global Auto Holdings, which is headed up by Kuldeep Billan, bought Lookers for £504m in late 2023. Lookers CEO Mark Raban subsequently left the company, which went through a round of job cuts.
GAHL said: “Following the successful completion of the Lookers acquisition along with a dedicated UK leadership team driving solid operational results within that platform, we believe the timing is right to pursue this highly accretive and attractive acquisition,” said Global Auto Holdings.