ACP exits Akomex in MBO deal following three-year holding period

Min Ho
03 April 2023

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Accession Capital Partners (ACP), a Central-European GP, has exited its investment in paper packaging manufacturer Akomex to management after a three-year holding period.

The Austria-based sponsor said in its statement that its early realisation of Poland-headquartered Akomex follows "exceptional performance" of the company, which saw revenues increase by 70% and EBITDA levels nearly doubling during its investment period. The performance put the company in a position to repay the mezzanine portion of the investment and to buy back ACP's equity stake, it said.

During the investment period, Akomex boosted its production capacity while simultaneously investing into efficiency-enhancing machinery.

A spokesperson for ACP said that returns "exceeded expectations", but declined to comment further.

Akomex was previously put on the market by the then owner Highlander Partners in 2019 in a Rothschild-led process. Group turnover then stood at the EUR 50m-EUR 55m range, with EUR 10m EBITDA, as reported by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket.

ACP provided EUR 21.1m in mezzanine and equity to Akomex to fund a buy-back by the founder and management in February 2020, according to the statement.

The sponsor invested in Akomex via AMC Capital IV, which raised EUR 264m in its final close in 2018.

ACP is currently fundraising for AMC V fund, which is targeting a EUR 300m plus hard-cap close towards autumn. The new strategy had secured around EUR 150m worth of committed capital at the time of its first close at the end of January 2023, partner and head of IR Christian Stix told Unquote in February.

Company
Founded in 1993, Akomex is a manufacturer of packaging in Central Europe, specialising in high-quality solid cardboard, leaflets, labels, trays and laminated sheets for the pharmaceutical, food, electronics, technology, personal care and home appliance sectors.

People
Accession Capital Partners - Piotr Sadowski (partner).
Akomex - Grzegorz Łajca (president and CEO).

Advisors
Akomex - Baker McKenzie (legal).
Accession Capital Partners - Norton Rose Fulbright (legal).