Ardian-backed Weber Automotive files for insolvency

The company filed for insolvency after profits began decreasing and it breached loan covenants, according to a report by Boersen-Zeitung. The founding family believes the company requires a capital injection, while other sources believe the company needs a rent reduction of €5m a year.

The report stated that Ardian has significantly deleveraged Weber, while the founding family have withdrawn equity capital from the company rather than injecting it, suggesting that the two shareholders will not be able to be invested in the company simultaneously in the future.

The salaries of the company's employees have been secured until the end of September. The company is in self-administration and will continue to be led by its CEO and chief technology officer Frank Grunow.

In 2016, Ardian acquired Weber Automotive using its Ardian LBO Fund V, which closed on €4.5bn that year. Ardian and the company's founders invested in a capital increase; the founding family retained a minority stake and continued to own the operational properties used by it. The founding family continued to lead Weber until September 2018.

Ardian holds a 75% stake in the company, according to reports by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket. The company operates production sites in Germany, Hungary and the US, and employs 1,500 people.

Law firm Grub Brugger has been appointed as a general representative to assist with restructuring.

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• Topics
• Exits
• DACH
• Consumer
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• Germany