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Jet Investment has concluded a contract to sell MSV Metal Studenka

The Czech investment company Jet Investment has concluded a contract to sell its 100% stake in MSV Metal Studenka to MORAVIA STEEL. The steelmaking company is among the most important industrial groups and steel producers in Central Europe with substantial activities in the forging industry. The terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

The agreement marks another successful divestment from the portfolio of Jet 1 fund after recent sales of LESS & TIMBER and BENET AUTOMOTIVE.

“The selling of MSV Metal Studenka to a strategic partner is a successful outcome of our restructuring efforts that we have been making for the last seven years. In the course of our management, the insolvent company has become a clear market leader in the forgings and subassembly for railways in Europe. Since our entry, we have doubled the profits and revenues of the entire group,” says Marek Malík, Partner in Jet Investment. “We have accepted the offer from MORAVIA STEEL mainly because we believe that joining MSV Metal with a respected steel producer and a major player in the forging industry will enable this company to grow further.”

Jet Investment Project Director Jan Sklenar said: “We are handing over a platform in excellent condition, strengthened by investment and with a full order book for the next period.” The group consists of the Czech MSV Metal Studenka, a. s. as well as Polish Kuźnia Ostrów Wielkopolski Sp. z o.o. In addition to the current organic growth, it was the purchase of a Polish competitor in 2017 that brought a significant positive development of economic indicators thanks to the synergies between the two companies. Besides, Jet Investment invested heavily in products and technologies during the holding of MSV Metal Studenka. Since 2013, the investments have amounted to EUR 15 million.

MSV Metal Studénka, the direct successor of Vagonka Studenka, is a comprehensive manufacturer of forgings and components for rail vehicles. It is one of the largest suppliers to the railway industry in Europe with a history dating back to 1900. Significant customers include all renowned European state railways such as DEUTSCHE BAHN AG, ÖBB, SNCF, SNCB, CD, RENFE, and some non-European railways such as TCDD, ONCF, SNTF, and more. MSV Metal Studenka also supplies its components to all major European freight wagon manufacturers.

Together with dozens of subsidiaries, MORAVIA STEEL is an important industrial group in Central Europe and the most significant Czech steelworks with domestic capital. It exports its products to more than 60 countries on all continents.

PwC Czech Republic provided advisory services to the seller in this transaction; legal services were provided by DRV Legal.

SkyLimit acquired Czech industrial automation firm VMK-CZ

SkyLimit Industry have acquired a majority 70%+ stake in VMK-CZ from FOREZ – the Czech automotive parts manufacturer. FOREZ will retain a minority stake in the company and its key management will continue in their roles. As a part of the transactions, the managers will also buy-in minority stakes in VMK-CZ.

Following the recent acquisitions of STS Olbramovice, INOX Technology, Ventos Energy Solutions and TECHNIK PARTNER, VMK-CZ is the fifth acquisition of the Fund, focusing on medium sized mechanical engineering companies in the Czech Republic, in total and third in  the segment of industrial automation. This segment is characteristic by a high degree of qualified labour and it curently belongs to the fastest developing industrial branches.

Having been established in 1999, VMK-CZ employs 36 people and focuses on the design and manaufacture of single-purpose machines, automated production lines and robotic workstations, including their own electrotechnical and software solutions. It serves clients in the automotive, healthcare, food and other industries and posted a turnover of over 100 mil. CZK in 2018.

SkyLimit Industry group now includes a portfolio of five independent companies with an aggregated turnover of over 600 mil. CZK, with 300 employees and total assets of over 400 mil. CZK. The companies share and develop synergies in the manufacturing process, commercial, technical and managerial know-how.

Source: Skylimit

ARX Equity Partners completes acquisition of TES Vsetin

ARX Equity Partners (“ARX”) completed the majority acquisition of TES Vsetin (“TES“). Headquartered in Vsetin, Czech Republic, TES (https://www.tes.cz) is an engineering company engaged primarily in the manufacturing of system components related to electrical machines, in addition to the design and manufacturing of its own proprietary electric machines, such as generators and electric motors. TES supplies critical components and machines to several blue-chip customers across various industries. The company generated revenues of over € 60 million in 2018 and currently employs around 600 technically skilled staff.

ARX acquired the business from an affiliate of Advent International. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, ARX has agreed to partner with the company’s existing management team, who will lead the future growth and development of the Company.

TES represents the fourth investment from the ARX IV fund.

Source: ARX Equity Partners

Mid Europa Announces Sale of Walmark to STADA

Mid Europa Partners (“Mid Europa”), the leading private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe, announced today the agreement to sell Walmark a.s. (“Walmark” or the “Company”) to STADA Arzneimittel AG (“STADA”). The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust clearance and is expected to close in Q1 2020.

With a unique portfolio of iconic brands and direct presence across nine European Union countries, Walmark is the leading consumer healthcare company in Central and Eastern Europe.

Matthew Strassberg, Co-Managing Partner of Mid Europa commented: “The acquisition by STADA validates Walmark’s transformation from a family-led business to an international platform. Working in partnership with new management team, we have achieved our original vision for the Company and created a valuable strategic asset by developing and implementing a thorough approach to operational excellence and focused product innovation. We would like to thank Walmark management and employees for their dedication and contribution over the past several years. We are confident that with the benefit of the resources of STADA, a global healthcare company with a 120-year history, Walmark will continue in its track record of success in our region and beyond”.

Miro Slezak, CEO of Walmark, commented: “This transaction recognizes the value of Walmark’s unique brands as well as strong organization attracting some of the best talent across our markets. We are very pleased to be joining STADA, as we share a common purpose of supporting our customers to live healthier lives and we are excited for the new opportunities for our employees as part of a larger company. We are grateful for Mid Europa’s support and strong commitment to the Company’s long-term strategy throughout their investment”.

Viktoria Habanova, Principal of Mid Europa who covers the Czech and Slovak markets said: “Mid Europa’s investment in Walmark as well as other successful partnerships with market-leading management teams and entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, such as Karneval, CRa, and Alpha Medical, illustrate our on-going commitment to these markets where we have invested over €1 billion over the past 15 years”.

The transaction execution was led by Viktoria Habanova with the support of Tomas Vrba and Rustam Kurmakaev.

Rothschild & Co acted as exclusive financial adviser to Mid Europa, Weil Gotshal & Manges with the support of White & Case and AK Jan Evan as its legal counsel, PwC as transaction services adviser, and Boston Consulting Group as its commercial adviser.

Source: MID EUROPA

Jet Investment agrees to dispose of BENET AUTOMOTIVE from its Jet 1 investment fund

The Czech investment company Jet Investment has agreed to dispose of 100% ownership in the company BENET AUTOMOTIVE to the Japan-based multinational company Teijin Limited, a world leader in the development, manufacturing and sales of technologically advanced materials and products. The terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

The sale marks a further successful divestment for the Jet 1 portfolio following last year’s sales of the companies LESS & TIMBER and KORDÁRNA Plus.

“The sale of BENET to a strategic partner brings a rather quick exit from our investment into the project within less than two years. While it was in our hands, we initiated a transformation of the company to prepare it organizationally for future growth in satisfying the robust demand in the market for BENET’s products. Among other things, we succeeded in accelerating synergistic effects with the firm Fiberpreg, which also is in our portfolio,” relates Jan Sklenář, project director at Jet Investment. Jet Investment Partner Marek Malík adds: “We accepted the offer from Teijin, primarily because under its management BENET will be a part of one of the world’s most important global players in high-tech products for the automotive sector. We firmly believe that the steps we have undertaken, coupled with the consolidation of Teijin products’ portfolio, primarily its structural components domain, will help BENET to rise into a top position within the market’s segment.”

Based in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic, BENET AUTOMOTIVE, s.r.o. is a producer of lightweight, resilient and highly designed exterior components for the automotive industry. It has three factories in the Czech Republic and one in Germany. Its main customers are especially car manufacturers from the VW Group, particularly Škoda Auto and Audi, as well as BMW and Daimler. In addition to producing technologically advanced plastic components reinforced with carbon or glass fibres and polyurethane parts, BENET also works in their pre-series development, assembly of painted components for new cars, and prototype production. The company presently has approximately 720 employees and made sales last year of 35.2 million euro. Precisely because of its strong know-how and excellent position on the European market, BENET provides an ideal fit for Teijin, which wants to substantially broaden its business in the area of composite automotive components.

Teijin is a global group of 170 enterprises across 20 countries, employing around 20,000 employees and operating in the areas of high-performance fibres (e.g. aramid, carbon and their composites), healthcare, film, resin, plastic, polyester fibres and IT. Teijin’s consolidated revenue was $ 8.1 billion last year. Teijin plans to strengthen its position in the European automotive markets – in addition to BENET, it acquired the Portuguese Inapal last year and is also planning to install a production line in the French plant of Continental Structural Plastics, the North American mother of which it has owned since 2017.

Duff & Phelps, based in Frankfurt am Main, provided M&A advisory work for the transaction, while DRV Legal, based in Brno, was the legal advisor for the transaction on behalf of the seller.

Source: Jet Investment

Enterprise Investors sells 3S to P4

Polish Enterprise Fund VII (PEF VII), a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), announced today that it has signed an agreement to sell 3S, a provider of fiber-optic and data center services for B2B clients, to P4, one of the leading telecom operators in Poland.

 

  • The enterprise value of the transaction is EUR 96 million;
  • The transaction is conditional upon obtaining antimonopoly approval.

 

3S is the owner and operator of a 3,800km-long, best-in-class fiber-optic network connected with a geographically diversified Tier 3 data center cluster. The company operates in a rapidly growing market segment, offering tailor-made telecommunication solutions that include internally developed cloud services to more than 2,800 B2B clients in Poland. It employs over 250 people. In 2015, EI acquired a 76% stake in the company for EUR 21 million. In 2018, 3S generated EUR 20 million in revenues.

 

“3S is ideally positioned to benefit from the growing demand for data services and the need for high-speed networks in Poland’s metropolitan areas. The company has a strong track record of servicing B2B clients, and its experienced management team is well equipped to drive the company’s growth under the new ownership. I am convinced that 3S will make a fine addition to P4’s offering”, said Rafał Bator, partner at Enterprise Investors responsible for the investment.

Warema Files for Approval to Acquire Anwis

Flarna Holdings Limited, controlled by a fund managed by ARX Equity Partners  (“ARX”), has entered into a binding agreement for the sale of Anwis Sp. z o.o. www.anwis.pl (“Anwis”) to Novaco Invest GmbH, a subsidiary of WAREMA Renkhoff SE. The transaction is subject to approval by competition protection authorities and its finalization is expected in approximately two months.

ANWIS Sp. o.o. is a Polish manufacturer of internal and external sun shading systems founded in 1979 year. The company based in Włocławek (Poland), employs about 450 people and achieved a turnover of € 32.6 million in 2018.

WAREMA Renkhoff SE www.warema.com/en/company/ (“Warema”), domiciled in Marktheidenfeld in Lower Saxony, is the operative heart of and the holding company for a strong team of firms divided into two divisions: Sun & Living Spaces and Plastics & Engineering, with more than 3,800 employees around the world.

In recent years Warema Group has accelerated the internationalization of its sun shading business and Anwis will join the Group as an independent brand.

Source: ARX Equity Partners

Genesis sells its portfolio company KS Klima-Service to a global air-conditioning and ventilation company TROX GmbH

By the end of May, KS Klima-Service, a.s., the Czech leader in the development, production and supply of air filters and filtering equipment for atmospheric filtration, based in Příbram, will change its ownership. Genesis Private Equity Fund II (GPEF II), with 77% ownership stake, Mr. Jiří Beseda, the founder of KS Klima, with 20% share and KS Klima top managers with the remaining share, agreed to sell 100% of KS Klima to the Germany-based global producer of air handling equipment and filters TROX GmbH.

After 25 years of continued growth and innovation since its start as a family business, KS Klima-Service successfully completed its transition into a major regional player in the atmospheric filtration equipment. In cooperation with Genesis Capital, the company has grown its sales and product portfolio, expanded in foreign markets and managed to remain a very attractive employer in the region. The final step of this transition was a relocation from the original seat Dobříš into new custom- built production premises in Příbram completed in 2018. The location increased production capacity by 50% and provides new possibilities for further development and growth with the new strategic investor. In 2018, the company posted revenues of € 10 million and had almost 100 employees. The entry of Genesis into KS Klima-Service in 2012 was an example of a successful generation succession. The original founders, Mr. and Ms. Beseda, intended to step down from day-to-day management of the company, however, were still interested in its future. Genesis offered to purchase majority share and the Beseda family kept minority stake. KS Klima existing and new managers purchased a smaller minority stake along Genesis, which considers experienced and competent management teams to be one of the most important factors determining success of a company. Mr. Jan Tauber, Managing Partner of Genesis Capital, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of the investment into KS Klima. Since 2012, KS Klima transformed from a successful growing family business to an independently managed mid-size company. Over the six years, it doubled its revenues and operating profit and has further prepared for growth by moving to newly built state-of-the-art factory.”

“It was very good decision to choose Genesis Capital as our partner in 2012. In the following years, we were able to fulfil all our goals: continued development of air filter production, the growth of employment in the company and construction of a new production plant. KS Klima acquisition by TROX GmbH will be the perfect completion of our entrepreneurial journey. We believe that TROX GmbH, as one of the world´s leading producers of air filters and ventilation systems, will continue to develop and manufacture filters in KS Klima and will bring new interesting developments and challenges to the firm and its team,” says Jiří Beseda, the minority shareholder, commenting on the cooperation with Genesis and common achievements over the past 7 years.

Mr. Jan Berger, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of KS Klima added: “On behalf of the management, we are pleased to say that TROX GmbH, a company with a very long history and excellent reputation, will become the new owner of our company. In 2018, we relocated to a new production hall in Příbram to prepare for further growth. I believe that this connection with a strong strategic partner will bring excellent opportunities for the future, improve our market position and enhance further development of the company.“

Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Udo Jung and Mr. Thomas Mosbacher, Members of the Board of Management of TROX GmbH stated: “It is our goal to increase our filter expertise, to optimise production synergies and to strengthen and expand our Czech location. By acquiring KS Klima-Service we also strengthen our market presence in Eastern Europe. By operating under competitive conditions, we will also have an excellent possibility to extend the filter business throughout Europe. We are looking forward to the long-term cooperation starting now.”

The sellers were advised by Deloitte (Prague) as transaction advisor and by Kinstellar on legal aspects. “We at Genesis Capital are pleased that KS Klima-Service will join a global player in the industry, which will be able to utilize the strong foundations and potential in the company for further development in Příbram, in the Czech Republic, and in the broader region. I wish the company and TROX all the best and believe that their common future will be as successful as the cooperation has been for us.” concludes the investment Radan Hanzl, Partner of Genesis Capital, responsible for this project.

KS Klima-Service

The company was established in 1993 and started by importing air filters from Germany. In 1995, KS Klima-Service launched its own production in Dobříš, and since then invested significantly into new production and R&D technologies. In 2018, the company with almost 100 employees moved to brand- new custom-built production premises in Příbram. KS Klima-Service has more than 2,000 business customers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other European countries. Its main products include pocket and panel filters, HEPA and compact filters, reactivation of activated carbon and special filtration systems and their designs.

TROX GmbH

TROX is a global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of components, units and systems for the ventilation and air conditioning of rooms. With 28 subsidiary companies in 26 countries on 5 continents, 14 production facilities, and importers and representatives, TROX is present in over 70 countries. The TROX GROUP currently has nearly 4,000 employees and generates revenues of roughly EUR 500 million.

Source: Genesis Capital