Sandvik has signed an agreement to acquire Deswik, a provider of mine planning software, with plans for the Australia-based company to be part of a newly formed Digital Mining Technologies division within the Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions business area.
By acquiring Deswik, Sandvik gains a top-tier supplier of integrated software platforms that, it says, support digitalisation throughout mine planning stages, with more than 10,000 current licences.
Deswik has a high quality customer base, and its strong profitable growth and low customer churn will further enhance Sandvik’s presence within software and digitalisation, and help accelerate growth, the company added.
“I am very pleased that we continue to execute on our shift to growth strategy, and continue to broaden our offering with digital solutions that increase productivity in the customer’s value chain,” Stefan Widing, President and CEO of Sandvik, said. “Mine planning and operations management is a key growth opportunity, and this complementary acquisition and our new Digital Mining Technologies division will strengthen our digital offering and enable us to provide customers a more comprehensive suite of technologies.”
Deswik will fill a value chain gap in Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ offering, increasing upstream mining coverage and enabling opportunities for end-to-end optimisation solutions, including, for example, incorporating electrification at the mine planning stage, the company explained. Its core software suite includes computer-aided 3D mine design, scheduling, operations planning, mining data management and geological mapping. Deswik also offers a range of consultancy services, including mine planning, scoping, software implementation and training support.
Henrik Ager, President of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, added: “Deswik’s second-to-none software suite combined with Sandvik’s digital and automation offering creates a clear world leader in digital solutions for the mining industry. Combining Deswik’s skills in mine planning and scheduling with our equipment and automation expertise will open new opportunities for optimising our customers’ mining value chain.”
Deswik will form one of three cornerstones in the newly–created Digital Mining Technologies division, established to, the company says, accelerate the execution of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ strategic priority to lead the industry development of underground sustainability and productivity solutions in electrification, automation, digitalisation and end-to-end optimisation. The new division also includes Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions automation solutions and the Newtrax telemetry and collision avoidance solutions.
Privately-owned Deswik, established in 2008 and headquartered in Brisbane, has approximately 300 employees and operates 14 offices in 10 countries. Deswik’s revenue as of October 2021, on a rolling 12-month basis, totalled A$79 million ($56 million), of which the share of recurring revenue was approximately 45%, and with an EBITA margin of approximately 30%.
The transaction is expected to close during the March quarter of 2022, subject to relevant regulatory approvals. Sandvik estimates that transaction costs of approximately SEK50 million ($5.5 million) in total will impact Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions in the December quarter.
