Capvis acquires Wer Liefert Was from Paragon Partners

According to a statement, the company's management team will retain a minority stake, though financial details for the transaction were not disclosed. The parties involved expect to close the deal by mid-March following approval from local regulators.

Capvis deployed capital for the transaction via its latest vehicle, Capvis Equity IV. The 2013-vintage fund held a final close on its €720m hard-cap in January 2014, 11 months after its launch with a €600m target. The deal marks the fourth investment in Germany for the GP's vehicle.

Following the capital injection, the company aims to boost its product offering as well as its international expansion across the European market, where it hopes to become the largest player in its market. According to a statement, the GP will assist this growth with additional acquisitions.

Previous funding
In December 2008, Swedish private equity investor Ratos provided SEK 288m of equity to support the acquisition of the business via its portfolio company Bisnode. The GP acquired the business from Seat Pagine Gialle for an enterprise value of SEK 411m.

Subsequently, Paragon acquired Bisnode for €79m in December 2011, and in August 2012, Nordic Mezzanine provided growth capital funding to the company for an undisclosed amount.

More recently, Nord LB and KWF Ipex Bank structured a round of refinancing for the business in November 2015.

Company
Founded in 1932 and based in Hamburg, WLW operates two online marketplaces: one under its own brand and another as Europages, focusing on products and services for industrial and commercial businesses.

Currently, the business operates exclusively across the DACH region and employs a staff of 200. According to a statement, the group claims 3.4 million users across its network and posted a turnover of €45m in 2016.

People
Capvis Equity Partners – Justin Kent (investment director).
Paragon Partners – Krischan von Moeller (founding partner).
Wer Liefert Was – Peter F Schmid (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – GCA Altium (corporate finance).

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• Topics
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• DACH
• Secondary buyout
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• Paragon Partners GmbH