Fersa Bearings S.A., Zaragosa, Spain, has completed the purchase of 100 percent of the Austrian-based bearings manufacturer NKE Austria GmbH. Fersa Bearings purchased 49 percent of the NKE shares in 2016. With the acquisition of the remaining 51 percent, the Austrian company is now wholly owned by Fersa and the business group is consolidated with two commercial bearing brands – Fersa for the automotive sector and NKE for the industrial sector.
The merger strengthens the group’s presence in central Europe – part of the company’s commitment to the internationalization that Fersa Bearings began in 2002 with the acquisition of shares by investment capital firm Going Investment. Since then, the company has evolved into a group with four production centers, six distribution centers and four R&D centers – two in Europe and two in Asia – supporting Fersa’s global presence in more than 95 countries. The union of the two brands strengthens the group financially, with an expected turnover in 2018 of more than €80 million (US$ 90.4 million) and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of more than €9 million (US$10.2 million). The company’s growth plans include reaching a turnover of €110 million (US$124.3 million) and an EBITDA of 15 percent on sales.
With Fersa’s entry into the NKE business, NKE has gone from billing €17 million (US$19.2 million) in 2015, with a negative EBITDA, to an expected closing forecast of €25 million euros (US$28.2 million) in 2018 and an EBITDA of almost €2 million (US$2.3 million).
