Two major wholesale deals in two days. Yesterday Brødrene Dahl became part of Finnish Kesko, and today Swedish Ahlsell has made an offer for the Swiss HVAC wholesaler Meier Tobler. Technical wholesale is consolidating into fewer, larger groups. What does that mean for installers – and where does a specialist like Arne Nielsen A/S fit in?

Ahlsell bids for Meier Tobler

Ahlsell has made a public tender offer of CHF 45.50 per share for Meier Tobler, around CHF 492 million in total. The Meier Tobler board unanimously recommends accepting the offer, and the main shareholder has already committed.

• Meier Tobler was founded in 1937 and has around 1,300 employees. It supplies plumbing, heating, ventilation and cooling to installers throughout Switzerland.
• Ahlsell is one of the largest technical wholesalers in the Nordics, with almost 8,000 employees in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Meier Tobler gives the group its first foothold in Switzerland.
• Timeline: The offer runs from 5 November to 2 December 2026, and closing is expected in the first quarter of 2027. Meier Tobler will continue as an independent company within the group.

The same pattern across Europe

The deal resembles the one we wrote about yesterday, when Kesko took over Brødrene Dahl. The large groups are buying their way into more markets and more customers, and they want to invest in digitalisation, logistics and purchasing.

For installers this is in many ways good news. Large wholesalers have broad ranges, many branches and strong webshops. But the broader the range, the harder it is to have specialist knowledge about everything.

This is where the specialist comes in

Arne Nielsen A/S has been family-owned and independent since 1969. We supply through the wholesalers and help with everything that requires specialist knowledge:

• Spare parts for older burners and boilers, even when the model is discontinued
• Technical questions about nozzles, pumps, controls and set-up
• Brands available only through us and our resellers, including Oventrop, Suntec, Brahma and Pintossi+C
• Burners and spare parts from Oilon, Riello, Intercal, Herrmann, MHG, Kroll and many more

Whether you buy from Ahlsell or Brødrene Dahl, you can order our products on your usual wholesaler account. If you need help finding the right part, write to us at info@arnenielsen.dk. We will find the part number and specifications so the order can go through the wholesaler.

Congratulations to Ahlsell

Ahlsell is one of our most important partners, and we congratulate the group on the planned acquisition. We look forward to following Ahlsell as it now also steps into the Swiss market.

Source: Meier Tobler AG, Ahlsell AB and bluewin.ch. Photo: Meier Tobler.