Lifco: a controlled, decentralized compounder

What is Lifco and why does it matter to a small holding company?

Lifco AB is a Swedish group that buys small and medium-sized niche companies and keeps them. It reports three business areas: Dental, Demolition & Tools, and Systems Solutions. Its annual report counts 275 operating companies at the end of 2025.

Its history is unusual. The annual report says Lifco was distributed to shareholders of Getinge Industrier in 1998 and listed in Stockholm. Carl Bennet AB bought it through a public offer in 2000 and it was delisted. It took its current form in 2006 and its Class B shares were listed again on Nasdaq Stockholm on November 21, 2014. Carl Bennet AB still holds 50.23% of the capital and 68.93% of the votes.

That matters to a founder who wants to list without giving up control. Lifco is the public record of a controlled, decentralized group.

What did it do, by the numbers?

• 2013. Net sales were SEK 6,030 million and EBITA was SEK 692 million, a margin of 11.5% (annual report 2014).
• 2014, the listing year. Net sales were SEK 6,802 million, EBITA SEK 966 million (14.2%) and net profit SEK 570 million. The group had 106 companies in 28 countries. The offering covered 49.9% of the shares at SEK 93 per Class B share, 45,330,000 shares worth about SEK 4.2 billion including the over-allotment, and was oversubscribed more than seven times (annual report 2014). The company's December 2014 release says Carl Bennet AB sold the 49.9% (December 17, 2014 release). At the end of 2014 Carl Bennet AB held 50.1% of the capital and 68.9% of the votes.
• 2021 to 2025. Net sales were SEK 17,480, 21,552, 24,454, 26,137 and 28,251 million. EBITA was SEK 3,709, 4,662, 5,664, 5,917 and 6,318 million (annual and sustainability report 2025).
• 2025. The EBITA margin was 22.4% (2024: 22.6%). Profit for the period was SEK 3,669 million and operating cash flow SEK 5,124 million. Sixteen companies were consolidated, with about SEK 2.2 billion of annual sales, for total consideration of SEK 4,141 million and a cash effect of SEK 3,360 million. The proposed dividend is SEK 2.70 per share (SEK 2.40) (year-end report 2025).

The report counts 155 consolidated acquisitions from 2006 to 2025 and 13 in 2024.

What worked, or what went wrong?

What worked

• From 2014 to 2025, net sales rose from SEK 6,802 million to SEK 28,251 million (4.2 times) and EBITA from SEK 966 million to SEK 6,318 million (6.5 times). The margin moved from 14.2% to 22.4%.
• Acquisitions were steady: 13 in 2024 and 16 in 2025, each a niche company with management that stays.
• Debt stayed modest. Interest-bearing net debt was 1.1 times EBITDA at the end of 2025, against a stated target of two to three times.
• Dividends grew by an average of 16.2% a year over ten years, inside a 30% to 50% payout policy.

What the figures also show

• The EBITA margin was 23.2% in 2023, 22.6% in 2024 and 22.4% in 2025. It has eased for two years.
• Dental net sales were SEK 6,331 million in 2025 against SEK 6,306 million in 2024, almost flat, while Systems Solutions grew from SEK 13,387 million to SEK 15,160 million.
• One owner holds more than two thirds of the votes. For other shareholders that is a trade: a long-term controlling owner, but little say in decisions. Whether that suits you depends on your view of the owner.

What does and does not transfer to a small holding company?

What transfers

• Decentralisation. Subsidiaries decide locally, central functions are kept to a minimum, and the report says Lifco has never relocated operations.
• A buy box. Targets are niche leaders that are profitable, stable and not tied to one supplier or customer, and management stays.
• Written targets: organic EBITA growth above GDP, return on capital employed excluding goodwill above 50%, net debt of two to three times EBITDA, a 30% to 50% payout.
• Control with outside shareholders, using two share classes. See how to build a holding company for acquisitions.

What does not transfer

• Size at listing. The group had 106 companies and nearly SEK 7 billion of sales when it listed in 2014.
• The purpose of the offering. It was a sale by the owner, not a raise to fund a first acquisition.
• History. The group traces to 1998, and the current form to 2006.

What do the numbers mean in a small-scale example?

The 2025 acquisition figures give two ratios. Total consideration of SEK 4,141 million for about SEK 2.2 billion of annual sales is about 1.9 times sales (4,141 / 2,200 = 1.88). That is a price against sales, not earnings, because the report does not give the acquired EBITA. The cash effect of SEK 3,360 million was 66% of operating cash flow of SEK 5,124 million (3,360 / 5,124 = 0.656), before capital spending, leases and dividends, which the figures I opened do not include.

Assume a holding company with $1.0 million of operating cash flow followed the same 66% share. It would spend about $0.66 million a year on acquisitions. That is an assumption for scale, not a forecast.

Where these numbers come from: 2021 to 2025 net sales, EBITA, margins, the 2025 acquisition count and consideration, the cash effect, operating cash flow, net debt ratio and the proposed dividend are from Lifco's year-end report 2025 and annual and sustainability report 2025. The history, 2025 ownership percentages, 275 companies, 155 acquisitions, targets and decentralised model are from the annual report. The 2013 and 2014 figures, the offering price and size, the oversubscription, the 2014 ownership and the 106 companies are from the annual report 2014. The seller and the 49.9% are also in the December 17, 2014 release. The ratios and the $1.0 million example are this site's arithmetic.

Related questions

Who controls Lifco?

Carl Bennet AB held 30,379,850 Class A and 197,752,023 Class B shares in the 2025 annual report, which is 50.23% of the capital and 68.93% of the votes.

What return on capital does Lifco target?

Return on capital employed excluding goodwill and other intangibles above 50% over the last twelve months. The 2014 annual report gave an outcome of 105.4% for that year. See ROIC for holding companies.

How much debt does Lifco use?

Its target is interest-bearing net debt of two to three times EBITDA. It was 1.1 times at the end of 2025. For public acquirers in general, see how much debt a public serial acquirer can carry.

What comes next

For another Stockholm group that began as a distribution to shareholders, read Addtech: born from a spin-off.

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• Teqnion: a small Swedish serial acquirer
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Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC, an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm. This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.