Carlyle sells Klenk to Binderholz

The GP made the divestment from its turnaround and special situations mandate, Carlyle Strategic Partners, which manages $3bn across three funds.

It ends a four-and-a-half-year holding period for the GP, which acquired Klenk in 2013 when the company sought private equity backing to battle against rising wood prices and increased competition from the Nordic market.

At the time of the original acquisition, Klenk reported sales of €387m and generated positive EBITDA. According to publicly available documents, the company reported an operational loss of €4.7m in 2012. By 2014 it was making an operational profit of €7.7m from €396m in sales and by 2015 (the last figures available) it reported an operational profit of €16m from €400m in sales.

Klenk has restructured its business activities and significantly improved productivity and growth in this time, according to a company statement.

Acquirer Binderholz is an Austrian timber producer that uses excess wood to make biofuels. It employs 2,530 people from five sites in Austria and generated a turnover of €900m in 2016.

Previous funding
Klenk first attracted private equity funding in 2000 when HQ Equita acquired a 19.7% stake in the company from Equita Beteiligungen Fonds 2. The GP then sold this stake to WestLB Bank in 2006, which sold 10% of it to the company as a treasury stock. The Klenk family retained a 70.3% holding.

In 2013, Carlyle acquired the company in a highly competitive auction that attracted 20 bidders, according to unquote" sister publication Debtwire. PwC conducted the sales process and the company said that in the event it was not successful it would file for insolvency.

Company
Klenk Holz was founded in 1904 by the Klenk family. The firm's headquarters and main plant are in Oberrot. It has further plants in Baruth and Wolfegg.

The firm produces and delivers sawn and pressure-treated timber, edge-glued panels, DIY products, construction timber, laminated timber, formwork beams and panels to DIY stores and industrial firms.

According to a press release, it reports annual sales of €400m and employs 1,000 people. The firm exports 30% of its products.

People
Carlyle Strategic Partners – Ian Jackson (managing director).
Binderholz Group – Reinhard Binder (CEO).

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