Ardian's Trigo acquires Böllinger's automotive quality business

Katharina Semke
05 July 2016

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Ardian’s portfolio company Trigo Group has bought the automotive quality testing business of German group Böllinger.

Ardian said it provided no additional capital for the transaction, which took place only days after the Trigo deal itself was closed. Böllinger will remain an independend entity within the group.

The acquisition is Trigo's first bolt-on since Ardian's takeover. Last year, Trigo had already acquired North American PIC Group and Spanish company Global Q.

Trigo aims to expand its automotive-related activities in Germany with the acquisition. Until now, its activities in Germany were mainly in the aerospace industry, with offices in Bremen and Hamburg. With the acquisition from Böllinger, Trigo's staff number in Germany rises by 150.

The sale of Böllinger's quality control service to Trigo is part of the group's larger restructuring efforts. Only the businesses HPP, Koncast and Inpeca will remain part of Böllinger, with which it will re-focus on the production of components and prototypes for the car and aviation industry. Earlier this week, the non-destructive materials testing business was sold to VR Equitypartner-backed Vohtec.

Previous Funding
In April this year, Ardian entered into exclusive negotiations with IK Investment Partners to acquire Trigo, with the deal closing on 30 June.

Companies
Based in Bad Friedrichshall and founded in 1990, Böllinger is a combination of businesses in the areas of light metal casting, high-performance processing and additive fabrication. Böllinger has an annual turnover of €6m.

Trigo provides operational quality management for the manufacturing sector, with a focus on the transportation industry. It provides services including quality inspection, engineering and management services. The business employs 7,000 people in 20 countries.

Trigo is based in Nanterre Cedex and was founded in 1997.

People
Trigo – Benoit Leblanc (executive vice-president Europe).
Böllinger – Franz Böllinger (founder, chairman).

Advisers
Equity – Goetzpartners, Christian Muthler, Daniel Aazami (M&A); Arqis, Jörn-Christian Schülze, Thomas Chwalek (legal); Mazars, Christian Back (financial due diligence).