Würth Electrical Wholesale Group acquires TIM S.A. in Poland
The Würth Electrical Wholesale Group (W.EG) expands its presence in Poland by having acquired 97,31 percent of the shares in TIM S.A. through a voluntary public tender offer. As next steps W.EG intends to conduct a public squeeze-out, followed by delisting the company from Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The management of TIM S.A. has been supporting Würth Group’s proposal during the whole process. The acquisition of the shares is performed by German based FEGA & Schmitt Elektrogroßhandel GmbH, one of the Würth Group’s electrical wholesale companies.
In March 2023, Würth Group concluded an agreement with a group of TIM’s shareholders including main shareholder Krzysztof Folta to acquire around 40 percent of the shares in TIM S.A. and issued a public tender offer for all shares to the shareholders of TIM S.A.. The transaction was subject to the approval of the responsible competition authorities. On January 25th, 2024, this approval was granted including a condition acceptable to the buyer.
TIM S.A. operates the largest e-commerce platform for electrical wholesaling in Poland, generating more than 70 percent of its revenue purely through online channels. In addition, the company operates a powerful logistics platform through its fully owned subsidiary 3LP S.A.. This makes TIM S.A. an ideal fit for the Würth Group's current electrical wholesaling activities in Poland, which are grouped under the umbrella of W.EG Polska. With this acquisition, the Würth Group becomes the market leader in electrical wholesaling in Poland with access to additional e-commerce and logistics capacities. After the acquisition, both units of TIM S.A., the electrical wholesale company as well as the logistics company will continue to operate as stand-alone companies headed by the current management teams in their respective functions.
Ulrich Liedtke, Executive Vice President of W.EG and responsible for the business in eight European countries, explains: “The year 2021 marked a turning point in our development when we were able to expand our position in Poland with the acquisition of Kaczmarek Elektric S.A. and lay the foundation for W.EG Polska in its current structure. Further expanding on both, the underlying growth strategy and Würth Group’s culture whilst at the same time highly appreciating local entrepreneurship, we are confident that both, TIM’s electrical wholesale activity as well as its logistics wing will continue their success stories.
The companies are going to benefit twofold. Obviously, we are going to benefit from an enhanced cooperation within our enlarged Polish team. Beyond that, we hope that the mutual exchange of experience will support all European companies of the Würth Electrical Wholesale Unit and open new business opportunities for both of TIM’s operations.”
Krzysztof Folta, founder and CEO of TIM S.A. underlines: “Looking at the development opportunities for TIM S.A., I am convinced that joining forces with the Würth Group presents a very attractive outlook for all our stakeholders. Both operating arms of our company, the electrical online wholesaler as well as the logistics service wing of it, will maintain their integrity and offer all its employees an excellent perspective for the future. This is accompanied by a very attractive offer for our shareholders. To put it simple: TIM is going to continue its success story!”
About TIM Group
TIM S.A. was founded in 1987 in Wroclaw as a traditional electrotechnical wholesaler. In 2013 the company changed its business model to become a modern e-commerce player. Today, TIM S.A. operates a leading B2B e-commerce platform in Poland and is the country's leading electrical wholesaler. The company has the widest offer of electrotechnical products in Poland, available within 24 hours of placing an order. TIM S.A. currently employs over 320 people at its headquarters in Wroclaw and 16 sales offices throughout Poland. According to the preliminary unconsolidated financial data, TIM S.A. generated sales revenue of PLN 1.4 billion in the 2023 fiscal year.
TIM S.A. has one subsidiary 3LP S.A. which was established in 2016 from the spin-off of TIM S.A.’s Logistics Department The company is the operator of six logistics centers in Poland, offering fulfillment services for entities active in the e-commerce market (also outside of the TIM Group, e. g. IKEA, Oponeo.pl). 3LP S.A. provides services using unique and state-of-the-art warehouse automatics solutions. It currently employs over 680 people. In 2023, 3LP S.A. sent more than 6.9 million packages and pallets from its logistics centers.
About the Würth Electrical Wholesale Group
The Electrical Wholesale Unit of the Würth Group is one of the leading electrical wholesalers on the European mainland. Ulrich Liedtke and Uwe Schaffitzel, Executive Vice Presidents of the Würth Group, are responsible for this business unit. In 2023, Würth Electrical Wholesale pulled in sales of EUR 3,8 billion and reported total growth of 10.0 percent over the previous year. This corresponds to roughly 18.5 percent of the Würth Group’s total sales volume.
About the Würth Group
The Würth Group is the global market leader in the development, production and sale of assembly and fastening materials. Other trading and production companies, known as the Allied Companies, operate in related business areas, ranging from electrical wholesale and electronics to financial services. The Group currently employs more than 87,000 employees in over 400 companies with more than 2,700 pick-up shops across 80 countries. The Group achieved sales of EUR 20.4 billion in the 2023 fiscal year. With over 7,900 employees, Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG in Künzelsau is the largest single company in the Würth Group.
