Livingstone advises on the sale of Safeline to J2L Holding

Livingstone has advised the founder and owner of SafeLine, Lars Gustafsson, in the sale of a majority stake to the investment company J2L Holding. Lars Gustafsson will remain a co-owner of SafeLine and he will continue as R&D Manager. With the backing of J2L, the company aims to accelerate its  growth in the expansive markets in Europe. SafeLine develops, manufactures and markets communication products and solutions specifically designed for the lift industry, with lift emergency phones as a significant product group.

Lars Gustafsson comments: ”It is very satisfying to be able to fully begin our journey to further develop SafeLine’s strong market positions and take advantage of our leading expertise and quality”, says Gustafsson. ”In cooperation with J2L we will do our best to be the most interesting partner for our customers and partners in the market. The expertise available within J2L complements our existing business in the best way possible.”

The reason for the transaction is that SafeLine sought a strong financial partner to continue its European expansion in the coming years: ”The business needs to grow and develop in Europe faster than today – which we cannot achieve alone. With J2L as the main shareholder the prerequisites to develop the business and services are improved”, Gustafsson concludes.

Johan Lindh, CEO of J2L Holding AB, says ”J2L focuses on stable profitable companies with a proven business model within industry and trade which perfectly applies to the SafeLine Group. The focus will continue to be on product development, new markets and maintained quality in parallel with a strengthened sales organization in Europe. We will focus on enhancing the group’s services as a leading partner to the lift industry. We are very excited about the acquisition, which will hopefully lead to success for both parties.”

Thomas Karlsson, partner at Livingstone, comments: ”The interest in SafeLine has been significant, both from financial and industrial players, driven by the company’s technical expertise and its market leading position in a growing niche. With a stable majority owner like J2L we think SafeLine is now able to increase the pace of its geographical expansion and benefit from changes in the regulatory framework across Europe.”