KION Group acquires Dematic

Forklift truck and warehouse equipment supplier the KION Group has announced it will acquire automation and supply chain optimisation supplier Dematic for approximately US$2.1 billion. The acquisition will create an entity with close to 30,000 employees and revenue of €6.7 billion for the calendar year 2015.

Dematic is a supplier of integrated automation technology, software and services, including automated guided vehicles (AGVs), palletisers, automated storage and retrieval systems, sorters and conveyors, and automation technologies. The company is present in 100 locations across 22 countries.

The purchase of Dematic will enable the KION Group to provide the full material handling product and service offering to customers of all sizes in a broad range of industries across the world — from manually operated industrial trucks to complete, fully automated warehouses.

After closing of the transaction, Dematic will be integrated into the KION Group to form a fifth operating unit, which will also comprise the recently acquired businesses of Egemin Automation and Retrotech. The future KION Group operating unit will be headed by Ulf Henriksson as its president.