Paragon acquires Pro Optik

The founders and managing directors have sold the company to a third managing director, Hannibal Zemariam, and Paragon. Zemariam will take over as CEO.

Paragon used its new fund, Paragon III, for this acquisition. The fund was understood to be targeting a volume of €700m. This is the vehicle's first acquisition, according to Unquote Data.

The vendors mandated Alantra to run the sale process in January 2019, according to Unquote sister publication Mergermarket. The adviser ran an international auction process involving both strategic investors and private equity firms.

The company generated revenues of €125m in 2018, up from €123m in 2016 and €81m in 2011. The company generated around €15m in EBITDA in 2018, according to Mergermarket.

Company
Founded in 1987, Pro Optik currently operates a network of 145 stores in Germany with more than 1,000 employees. Headquartered in Wendlingen, its stores are operated using a partnership model, offering the options of either being a joint venture or a 100% franchise partner. Its product range includes both branded designer frames and private label frames, selling around 400,000 spectacles per year. The company recently added hearing aids to its range.

People
Pro Optik – Rainer Hildebrandt, Peter Hoppert (founders, managing directors); Hannibal Zemariam (managing director).
Alantra – Christoph Handrup (managing director).

Advisers
Equity – GCA Altium (corporate finance).
Vendor – Alantra (M&A).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• DACH
• Healthcare
• healthcare
• Germany
• Paragon Partners GmbH
• Alantra