Alliance Marine acquires Comstedt AB
Professional marine and leisure equipment group Alliance Marine has made official its February 7, 2022 acquisition of Sweden's Comstedt AB. The Swedish company, based in Gothenburg and founded in 1983 by Jan Comstedt, is a major player in the distribution of equipment for the marine industry in Scandinavia. The company works exclusively on a BtoB basis with boatyards and chandleries. The company distributes many well-known brands such as Humminbird, Minn Kota, Cannon, Lewmar, Jabsco, Rule or Dometic.
The team of 21 people based in Sweden will continue to be led by the existing team members: Mats Comstedt (Managing Director), Anna Comstedt Hedröd (CFO) and Magnus von Barth (Sales Director).
Strengthening of the Scandinavian nautical market and opening up to fishing
The acquisition is part of the recent internationalization strategy of the Alliance Marine group. It had already signed in august 2021 the acquisition of another Swedish distributor, Navinordic . "Comstedt was interesting for a variety of reasons. It is a very technical company, especially in energy and electronics. They are very strong in recreational fishing with the distribution of the Johnson Outdoors group brands such as Humminbird or Minn Kota throughout Scandinavia. On the other hand, it does not do safety, which is a Navinordic specialty. We will be careful to ensure that the distribution openings for the brands do not compete with each other," says Cathy Millien, the group's communications manager.
Comstedt has recently opened a branch office in Finland and Norway with 6 employees and plans to continue these developments with the support of Alliance Marine. "Becoming a member of Alliance Marine provides us with a financial foundation that will help us explore new
the company is now expanding into new market segments and growing faster throughout Scandinavia," says Mats Comstedt.
Continuation of Alliance Marine's international strategy
The Alliance Marine group is taking a step forward in its international development. Born in France, it now has more structures outside the country, with 11 subsidiaries abroad, compared to 10 in its country of origin.
The transaction also confirms the support of the new shareholder LBO France of Jean-Paul Roche, President of Alliance Marine, as the acquisition was finalized on December 22, 2021.
