Triton's WernerCo buys Zarges from PE backers

Baird and VR both made an exit in the sale to WernerCo, ending a 12-year holding period.

Triton acquired WernerCo in May 2017, drawing equity from its €3.3bn buyout vehicle Triton Fund IV. The acquisition was backed by $530m in debt, comprising a $265m term loan B arranged by JP Morgan and Barclays and a $265m senior unsecured bond.

The combined group will employ 4,700 people.

Previous funding
AlpInvest Partners (then NIB Capital) made the first private equity investment in Zarges in February 2001. It acquired an 83% stake in a management buyout worth DM 130m (€66.47m) alongside the management team. A year later, the GP injected €20m of expansion capital into the company.

Taros Capital span out from AlpInvest in January 2006 and kept part of the private equity portfolio, including Zarges. It then sold the company in a secondary buyout to a consortium of Baird (then Granville Baird Capital Partners) and VR. The transaction had an enterprise value of €156m and generated a 3x return for Taros.

Company
Based in Weilheim, Germany, Zarges employs 800 people on three production sites and sells its products in Germany, France, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. Its three major business sectors are professional access, storage products and special construction.

People
Triton Partners – Ruth Linz (investment advisory professional).
Baird Capital – Mathias Schirmer (partner).
Zarges – Tom Kaiser (CEO).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Exits
• DACH
• Industrials
• Trade sale
• Germany
• Triton Partners
• Baird Capital Partners Europe Ltd
• Build-up