IK to sell 2Connect in SBO to Rivean

Ero Partsakoulaki
19 May 2022

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IK Partners has agreed to sell Dutch cable and connectors manufacturer 2Connect to Rivean Capital; the company’s management will be reinvesting in the deal.

Unquote's sister publication Mergermarket reported in March that IK was working with Lincoln International on a secondary sale of the company. The business was expected to be marketed off annual EBITDA of EUR 13m, with a formal auction poised to launch in 2Q22.

Rivean Capital (previously Gilde Buy Out Partners) is deploying capital from its Buy Out Fund VI, which held a final close at EUR 1.4bn in 2019. The vehicle targets lower middle market leveraged buyouts of companies in the Benelux and the DACH regions with a sector agnostic approach. It aims to acquire controlling stakes in companies with enterprise value of EUR 100m-EUR 250m, making 17 and 20 investments in its lifecycle, averaging around EUR 75m per deal.

IK acquired 2Connect in November 2018 via its IK Small Cap II Fund, a EUR 550m vehicle, from the company's founders, the van der Put family, who reinvested alongside the GP, according to Unquote Data. Since then, the company has more than doubled its revenues, expanded internationally and showed strong capability to scale its operations, according to a press release. It completed two add-on acquisitions: industrial refrigeration company W-Tech International B.V. in Netherlands (2020) and German peer Büschel Connecting Systems (BCS) in November (2021).

Company
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Waalwijk, the Netherlands, 2Connect develops and produces in-house innovative and customised interconnection solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) globally. Its offering includes specialised cables and connectors in addition to bespoke interconnection devices, including machinery, equipment and component manufacturers in agro, medical, climate & energy, semicon and sensors. It employs over 450 people across its headquarters in and three manufacturing sites in Romania and Germany.

People
Rivean Capital – Tom Muizers (senior partner).
2Connect – Mark van den Heuvel (CEO)
IK Partners – Sander van Vreumingen (partner); Frances Houweling; Benoît Lammens; Mirthe Steinfort

Advisers
Vendor – Lincoln International (financial adviser); NautaDutilh (legal advisor); Roland Berger (Strategic VDD); PwC (Financial and Tax VDD); ERM (ESG VDD)