The Nic. Christiansen Group, one of Denmark’s largest car companies, has received the competition authorities’ approval of the purchase of the experienced Toyota dealer chain ERA BILER. The acquisition was announced in June this year, and the Group CEO Niels Vrist Bertelsen is pleased that the deal has now been finally approved.

“We have really looked forward to being able to welcome ERA BILER to the Nic. Christiansen Group, and we are happy to take over such an experienced chain with so many skilled and passionate employees. Toyota has for many years been a fixed part of the top three over the most sold cars in Denmark, and therefore we are proud to now be able to offer the popular cars to even more Danes,” says Niels Vrist Bertelsen.

The Nic. Christiansen Group already has a good knowledge of Toyota through the group’s Terminalen businesses, which today trade the Japanese car brand, but with the purchase of ERA BILER, which has three branches in Hillerød, Helsinge and Frederikssund, the group is upgrading its Toyota activities significantly.

At ERA BILER, Jacob Johannessen, who is the director and now former owner, has also looked forward to the purchase being finally approved, so that the chain can continue under the Nic. Christiansen Group:

“There is a perfect match between the Nic. Christiansen Group and ERA BILER, both on values and focus on customer experience, and therefore I have really looked forward to this consolidation. Now I look forward to working on making ERA BILER the best Toyota dealer in Denmark,” says Jacob Johannessen, who continues as director and thus gets the responsibility for the operation.

An eventful 2023 

The approval of the acquisition of ERA BILER marks the end of an eventful 2023, where the Nic. Christiansen Group, in line with the group’s growth strategy, has made several large acquisitions.

“I am very proud of the year that the Nic. Christiansen Group has had, where we have really executed on our strategy. We have prepared ourselves for the future with some extremely exciting acquisitions. And it should not be a secret that we have an appetite for more. We have a historically strong equity, which makes it possible for us to make acquisitions when we see the right match. Therefore, we always keep an eye on interesting opportunities in the market in both domestic and foreign markets,” says Niels Vrist Bertelsen.

In addition to ERA BILER, Nic. Christiansen Group has in 2023 bought the workshop chain Skorstensgaard, which has 22 workshops and over 200 employees, as well as the North German BMW dealer chain May & Olde, which has 240 employees. On December 12, it was also announced that the Nic. Christiansen Group and Ford Motor Company have signed a ‘non-binding memorandum of understanding’ to let the Danish group take over the import of Ford in Denmark with effect from the second half of 2024.