Husqvarna purchases Gardena

Industri Kapital, Gardena's majority shareholder, has sold 100 per cent of its shares in the German manufacturer of garden equipment to the Swedish Husqvarna group of companies. The purchasing price amounts to € 730 mio. It is expected that the sale will be finalised during the first quarter of 2007, subject to the approval of the competition authorities.
According to Gardena's own figures, the company achieved the best results in its entire history in the 2005/2006 financial year (to 30 September 2006). Sales rose by 7.2 per cent to € 421.8 mio, and the operating result (EBITDA) saw an increase of 12.6 per cent to € 77.0 mio.