Finnish retail industry group Kesko has agreed to purchase the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish businesses of technical trade operator Dahl from France’s Saint-Gobain for €1.20bn ($1.38bn), marking the largest deal in Kesko’s history.
The deal extends Kesko’s footprint in heating, piping, air conditioning and infrastructure construction across Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
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The debt-free transaction price of €1.20bn excludes lease commitments, rising to €1.51bn when lease commitments at the end of 2025 are included.
The three businesses posted combined net sales of €2.06bn in 2025, with Sweden contributing €922m, Norway €614m and Denmark €533m.
Saint-Gobain chairman and CEO Benoit Bazin: “Kesko will create a strong business combination with Dahl for the benefit of customers specialising in plumbing, sanitary and heating in the region. This transaction also deepens the strategic partnership between Kesko and Saint-Gobain in the Nordics.”
Dahl’s Nordic operations span around 190 stores and three automated central warehouses, employ approximately 2,700 people across the three countries and serve more than 70,000 customers.
Around 35% of sales are generated through digital channels.
The business is entirely B2B [business-to-business], with approximately half of revenue coming from renovation building and close to a third from infrastructure construction.
Kesko will fund the acquisition initially through bridge financing arranged by Danske Bank and Nordea Bank, to be refinanced with a combination of equity and debt after completion.
The equity component is expected to take the form of a share issue of approximately €500m–€700m.
Non-recurring transaction costs are estimated at around €8m.
If completed, the deal would lift technical trade’s share of net sales within Kesko’s building and technical trade division from 49% to 65% and increase the proportion of B2B trade from 83% to 88%.
International sales would rise from 22% to 33% of group net sales.
Dahl in Sweden and Brødrene Dahl in Norway and Denmark are expected to continue operating as separate business units under their current brands following a light integration.
The transaction remains subject to competition authority approval and certain other conditions, with completion expected by early 2027.
Kesko president and CEO Jorma Rauhala: “Once completed, the acquisition would make building and technical trade Kesko’s biggest division. Through this, the largest acquisition in Kesko’s history, and growth strategy execution, Kesko targets group net sales of some €20bn and division net sales of some €10bn in the early 2030s.”
