By acquiring Saint-Gobain’s Nordic operations, Airvance Group has surpassed the symbolic €1 billion revenue milestone and reaffirmed its ambition to become a European leader in air treatment solutions.
The French group, which specializes in air treatment, has signed an agreement to acquire Saint-Gobain’s HVAC distribution and metal profile businesses in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Through this transaction, Airvance Group is adding €415 million in revenue, allowing the company to cross the €1 billion threshold.
Analysis by the experts at AURIS Finance, an M&A and financial advisory firm
By taking over Saint-Gobain’s Nordic operations, Airvance Group is integrating three businesses: Bevego in Sweden, Ventistål in Norway, and Øland Airforce in Denmark.
With €415 million in revenue in 2025, 950 employees, and 62 service centers and production sites, this combined business ranks among the leading ventilation system distributors in the Nordic countries.
This acquisition enables Airvance Group to immediately strengthen its presence in Northern Europe while expanding its offering into complementary segments that generate both commercial and industrial synergies.
For Saint-Gobain, this divestment aligns with the strategic refocusing objectives of its “Lead & Grow” plan.
A French mid-sized company turned European player
Founded 114 years ago, Airvance Group designs, manufactures, and distributes solutions dedicated to ventilation, heating, cooling, insulation, and indoor air purification.
The group notably operates through the brands France Air, Cairox, and Sufix.
With 1,931 employees, 25 subsidiaries, and commercial operations in more than 50 countries, Airvance Group now ranks among Europe’s top five players in comfort ventilation and indoor air quality.
A transformational transaction
This transaction marks another milestone in Airvance Group’s external growth strategy, which has been underway for several years to accelerate its European expansion.
The acquired businesses are being added to the €603 million in revenue generated by Airvance Group in 2025, illustrating the transformational impact of this transaction on the group’s scale.
Beyond this step change in size, the company is also strengthening its footprint in strategic Nordic markets, which are recognized for their maturity in energy efficiency and indoor air quality standards. This growth momentum accelerated in 2020 with the acquisition of SIG Air Handling, a foundational transaction that shaped Airvance Group in its current form and structured its European growth trajectory.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of May, following the customary employee consultation process.
A disciplined buy-and-build strategy
In less than ten years, the family-owned company based in Beynost, near Lyon, has multiplied its revenue by six. This growth has been driven by a progressive buy-and-build strategy aimed at strengthening both the group’s geographic footprint and its technical expertise.
- In March 2026, Airvance Group strengthened its presence in the Netherlands and Benelux through the acquisition of Ultimair from Swegon Group.
- In January 2026, the group acquired a majority stake in IPK, a company specializing in heat pumps.
- In early 2025, Airvance Group completed the acquisition of Vecoflex, which specializes in the distribution of ventilation, insulation, and flexible systems for buildings.
These transactions, sometimes smaller in scale, follow a clear strategy: strengthening local market positions, expanding distribution networks, and integrating complementary expertise.
The acquisition of Ultimair perfectly illustrates this approach. Although it represents less than €10 million in revenue and around twenty employees, it allows Airvance Group to consolidate its presence in an already strategic market.
A market driven by structural trends
The sector benefits from several long-term drivers: improving building energy efficiency, renovating real estate assets, and increasing requirements related to indoor air quality.
In this environment, companies capable of combining geographic reach, technical expertise, and execution capabilities hold a significant competitive advantage.
The transaction completed by Airvance Group reflects a broader trend: industrial mid-sized companies are accelerating their European expansion through targeted acquisitions in order to achieve critical scale in still fragmented markets.
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