Deal Announcement 03/25: Retail & Consumer / Engineering & Construction

The Deal

The PwC M&A team is pleased to announce the successful sale of the Swedish Greenwood Sverige AB (“Greenwood”) with its two subsidiaries Bäckebrons Sagverk AB (“Bäckebrons”) and Balungstrands Sagverk AB (“Balungstrands”) to Profura AB (“Profura”). 

Greenwood is part of the insolvent Ziegler Group. Its sawmills in Bäckebrons and Balungstrands are well-established in the south / middle of Sweden and renowned for their premium wood quality. Thanks to their strategically favorable locations, both sawmills predominantly catered to the domestic market and other Northern European countries by supplying high-quality wood products. 

The sale of Greenwood was led by the collaborative efforts of the German and Austrian PwC M&A teams. PwC was able to keep a fierce competition between several interested investors until the signing of the transaction on 28 February 2025. Profura finally convinced the creditors with the most attractive offer and strategic concept. The deal was closed on 31 March 2025.

Insolvency administrator Volker Boehm (Schultze & Braun) stated: “The acquisition of the Swedish sawmills by a renowned company like Profura demonstrates the strong appeal of Ziegler's solvent subsidiaries to international investors. All 85 employees will be preserved”

Greenwood Sverige AB

Greenwood with its operating subsidiaries Bäckebrons and Balungstrands focuses on sourcing and processing high-quality wood from local producers, maintaining a robust regional presence and an excellent network within the Nordic markets. It generated revenues of over EUR 60m in 2024. Greenwood was acquired by Ziegler Group in 2022.

Profura AB

Profura is a Swedish investment company that focuses on acquiring and developing small to medium-sized businesses across various industries. Profura typically invests in businesses with strong regional ties and has a long and proven history of operating sawmills and wood related businesses in Sweden.

Schultze & Braun

Schultze & Braun is law firm based in Germany, specializing in insolvency administration and restructuring. Established in 1975, the firm has grown to become one of the leading experts in insolvency law in Europe, offering services in insolvency proceedings, corporate restructuring, and legal advice for businesses facing financial difficulties. Volker Böhm, known for his expertise in insolvency administration and restructuring, plays a key role in handling complex insolvency cases and providing strategic legal advice to clients facing financial difficulties.

PwC

The global PricewaterhouseCoopers network is a worldwide association of independent auditing and consulting companies which together employ more than 370,000 people in 149 countries. Our global network comprises over 2,900 M&A professionals all over the world, realising approx. 400 successful transactions per year. Our Distressed M&A team led by Timo Klees (Partner) is market leading in Germany and has successfully advised on more than 80 transactions out of special situations and insolvency situations in recent years. Latest transactions include among others Manz AG, Nobiskrug, Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk Gruppe, Auto-Kabel, Compleo, Prophete, Steuler Fliesengruppe, Tennis-Point, Ludwig Pfeiffer, Aluminium Rheinfelden, Poggenpohl, Dradura, Fintyre, Thomas Cook and Vapiano.

The German PwC M&A team included Timo Klees (Partner), Dr. Alexander von Friesen (Partner), Julia Jaumann (Senior Manager), Julius Karp (Senior Manager), Jan Klaus (Senior Associate), and Philipp Huber (Senior Associate). The Austrian PwC M&A team consisted of Thomas Vorlaufer (Director), Stephan Brandweiner (Senior Manager), Koen Stam (Senior Manager), and Ferdinand Croy (Senior Associate).