Ergon forms SPV for fire protection business SVT

Ergon SVT Long Term Value Fund SCSp has total commitments of €270m, the GP said in a statement. The vehicle will invest solely in SVT, with the aim of supporting its growth by capitalising on underlying market and safety trends, as well as organic growth and build-up potential.

Evercore advised Ergon on the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis also provided legal advice.

Pantheon Ventures is the lead investor in the deal, according to a statement. The deal also saw participation from existing SVT investors and ECP III LPs, as well as several new institutional investors.

The fund will acquire the stake in SVT held by Ergon Capital Partners III, through which Ergon invested in SVT in November 2017. The fund held a final close in March 2010 on €775m, according to Unquote Data. The fund made 12 platform investments during its investment period, which ran from 2011-2018. Its exits so far include clothing brand Golden Goose, which Ergon sold to Carlyle in February 2017, ending a two-year holding period.

SVT was founded in 1969 and has been backed by private equity since August 2008, when Capiton and investment holding company CFH acquired the company. The business generated €67m in sales at the time.

IK Investment Partners acquired SVT in an SBO in June 2015, by which time the company's revenues had increased to €80m.
SVT now reports revenues of €200m and EBITDA of more than €30m, with 870 staff. SVT posted revenues of €114m and EBITDA of €13m at the time of Ergon's initial investment in 2017, when it employed 450 staff.

During the investment period, Ergon has supported the company's organic growth and has also backed add-ons including the acquisition of fire protection product producer Rolf Kuhn in February 2018. The company also acquired French market peer Odice in September 2020, as reported.

The company also announced that current CEO Steffen Gerdau is to replaced by Jens Reiners, former managing director at construction digitalisation business Hilti, effective as of March 2021. Gerdau will take a new role as chairman of SVT's advisory board and will retain his stake in the company.

Fire protection businesses have been popular among European GPs in recent years, with the sector considered resistant to economic downturns. Deutsche Beteiligungs AG acquired fire safety systems business Multimon in August 2020, as reported. Patrimonium acquired fire protection and construction business Roth Group in an SBO from Equistone in October 2020, while Rockpool invested in UK-based data centre fire protection safety systems business EA-RS in February 2021.

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