Timely decisions in the field of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can turn an ambitious company into one of the market leaders within a few years. Thoughtful investments and purchasing interesting assets can be part of a development strategy during a period of increased business activity.
IEK GROUP is a market leader in electrical and lighting products: according to research by "B1", in 2023 the company ranked first in revenue among a number of major players in the corresponding segment. Analysis of the company's financial statements shows that IEK GROUP's business growth rates were twice the market average. First Deputy General Director of IEK GROUP Mikhail Gorbachev talked about what led to such results in his column on the "Forbes Expertise" portal.
An important driver of the company's development was the M&A strategy. It allowed IEK GROUP to transform from a goods manufacturer into a multi-profile supplier of comprehensive solutions over several years. This happened after several companies operating in different segments of the electrical equipment market sequentially joined the holding. These are the LEDEL lighting plant, the MasterSCADA software platform developer "MPS Soft", "Neosun Energy Rus", working in the field of renewable energy, FEREKS lighting, the logistics company "Energy Logistics", and the manufacturer of plastic boxes for electrical installation TEKFOR. In 2023, IEK GROUP acquired Russian assets of Legrand, in 2025 - LLC "Embiot" (brand ámbiot, a developer of hardware and software for automation).
Each M&A deal was preceded by careful preparation. New assets brought the holding additional competencies, technologies, and production capacities.
"Timely decisions to launch M&A activity allowed us to go beyond the narrow segment of electrical equipment for construction and utilities, with which we once started, and become one of the leading suppliers of comprehensive solutions for many sectors of the economy. In the future, we do not intend to abandon this successful strategy even with possible turbulence in the financial market," notes Mikhail Gorbachev in the column.