Kion is paying 2.1 billion US dollars (equivalent to around 1.85 billion euros) to investors AEA and OTPP for Dematic, a manufacturer of conveyor and storage systems and sorting systems. According to Kion, the takeover will create a leading global provider of Intralogistics 4.0 solutions with around 30,000 employees and an annual turnover of EUR 6.7 billion. The merged company will be able to seamlessly offer the full range of material handling products and services to customers of all sizes in a variety of industries around the globe. The offering will be the most comprehensive on the market, according to Kion. It ranges from manually operated forklift trucks to fully equipped, fully automated warehouses. Dematic will leverage Kion Group's service network and brand reputation in key markets such as Europe, China and Brazil, while Kion Group will benefit from Dematic's position in the automation markets in the US and Europe.

Dematic's portfolio includes automated guided vehicles, palletizers, storage and picking equipment including automated storage systems, sorters and conveyors, as well as an integrated software platform and automation technologies. Dematic is a former Mannesmann and Siemens subsidiary and has been owned by the US financial investor AEA and the Canadian pension fund OTPP since the beginning of 2013. The company has been growing by over 12% annually for two years. In the 2015 calendar year, it generated revenue of around USD 1.8 billion and an adjusted EBIT of USD 166 million. Dematic employs around 6,00 logistics experts - including over 3,000 engineers for software development, research and development, engineering services, project management and customer service. The company has over 100 locations in 22 countries.

With seven brands (Linde, Still, Fenwick, OM Still, Baoli, Voltas and Egemin Automation), the Kion Group claims to be the market leader for industrial trucks in Western and Eastern Europe, the number two in its sector worldwide and the leading foreign supplier in China. In the 2015 financial year, Kion generated sales of around EUR 5.1 billion with 23,500 employees worldwide.