08.03.2007

Laho sold again

Loxam has agreed to buy Laho the third largest equipment rental company in France from Barclays Private Equity less than two years after it acquired the business from Swedish private equity company, Industri Kapital. See IK exits Laho -March 2005

Barclays, which is also a major investor in rapidly growing UK access company –AFI paid €110 million for Laho in March 2005. At that time Laho had revenues of €115 from 110 locations with around 700 staff. Under Barclays ownership Laho has added nine locations and a further 80 employees. Revenues in 2006 were €124 million.

Loxam has not disclosed the price it has paid for Laho and says that it will operate Laho as a separate business within the group giving it a 19 percent share of the equipment rental market in France.

Laho is essentially a general rental company with light construction equipment and tools.
Serge Ansaldo, chief executive of Laho, will move with the business and continue to manage Laho within the Loxam group.

Vertikal Comment

In spite of its big plans Barclays appears if anything to have held Laho back under its ownership. On the takeover by Barclays n 2005, Serge Ansaldo CEO of Laho said
“Laho is now well positioned to play an instrumental role in consolidating the French equipment rental market. Our new partners, BPE, will actively support us in implementing this strategy”.

Instead it seems that Laho has become a victim of that consolidation rather than a beneficiary.

Regular acquisitions has taken Loxam to European market leadership however the company’s strategy appears to be more opportunistic than strategic. It is an access specialist in the UK, Ireland and Holland, A general rental company in Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain and in France it operates many of its acquisitions independently including Loueurs de France, Serre & Ansot Alpina and now Laho.

The majority of the group’s growth has come from acquisitions, but once it has purchased a company it appears to do little to grow its market share and leverage the Loxam brand by adding other products.

As a result it has grown at a much slower pace than companies such as Ramirent and Cramo (In 2006 Rami grew its revenues by 28 percent Cramo by 20 percent and Loxam by around 10 percent.)

This major purchase opens its lead up again just as Rami was about to overtake it, the key question though is can Loxam keep ahead of the others with a buy and hold strategy alone? Watch this space.