ECM buys Albrecht & Dill

Oscar Geen
02 March 2018

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ECM Equity Capital Management has acquired a majority stake in Hamburg-based perfume distributor Albrecht & Dill (A&D).

Philipp Sahling was the sole owner of the company prior to the transaction and he will continue in his role as managing director, although long-standing executive Nadine Cetl has also been promoted to managing director to support him.

The extended management team will also take a minority stake in the new company.

ECM said the fragmented fragrances market represents a good consolidation opportunity. It plans to expand A&D's fragrance portfolio and retail network within DACH as well as selectively outside of the region.

The GP drew equity for the buyout from German Equity Partners IV, a €230m fund that held a final close in June 2012 and was 60% deployed as of April 2017, according to Unquote Data.

The company has simultaneously announced the appointment of Jochen Delvendahl as head of marketing and sales. Delvendahl was previously managing director at ITF Germany (Angelini Beauty).

Company
A&D was founded in 1950 and originates from a traditional Hanseatic trading company. A&D distributes its fragrance brand portfolio through selected specialist fragrance retailers. The brand portfolio includes Cartier, Lalique, Amouage and Penhaligon's.

Department stores supplied by A&D include Ludwig Beck in Munich, KaDeWe and Galeries Lafayette in Berlin, the luxury department stores Jelmoli and Globus in Zurich, and 600 selected specialist fragrance retailers in the DACH region. The company employs 62 people and generated revenues of €20m in 2016, according to publicly available documents.

People
ECM Equity Capital Management – Florian Kähler (partner); Florian Thelenberg, Alexander Schönborn (investment directors); Marius Buxkämper (investment manager); Christoph Demers (investment associate).
Albrecht & Dill – Philipp Sahling, Nadine Cetl (managing directors); Jochen Delvendahl (head of marketing).

Advisers
Equity – Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy (legal); EY Parthenon (commercial due diligence); Ebner Stolz (financial due diligence); Willis Towers Watson (insurance due diligence).
Company – Pestlin & Co (corporate finance); Allen & Overy (legal).