Gimv buys majority stake in Köberl Group

The company's managing owners, brothers Armin and Karl Köberl, will remain in their roles and will retain a minority stake.

Maja Markovic, principal and head of Gimv's DACH region sustainable cities project, told Unquote: "We've been looking at the segment as a platform in sustainable cities for a while, we had a lot of discussions with potential targets in France so we were inclined to follow up on that sector in Germany. Taurus led the sale process for the Köberl brothers, we were asked to join."

The GP aims to strengthen the company's in-house services, assist with digitalisation and support external growth. Gimv will also seek to make add-on acquisitions, Markovic said, and the GP will take a seat on the company's board.

Köberl Group will form part of Gimv's Sustainable Cities project, Markovic told Unquote. "We have looked at sustainability in transport logistics, energy and environment, and buildings and infrastructure," she said. "In buildings and infrastructure, there is growing concern about heating, sustainability and CO2 emissions – buildings in Germany should be carbon neutral by 2050. So there is a lot to do on the real estate side – Fink is active in renovation and they help with resource efficiency. It's about how you manage resources, from cleaning to energy management, and Gema takes care of this."

The deal marks Gimv's second investment in the Sustainable Cities platform in the DACH region, following Wemas Absperrtechnik in November 2018. The platform consists of a total of nine companies.

Company
Köberl Group consists of three subsidiaries. Gema Gebäaudemanagement provides services for technical, infrastructure and commercial facility management, focusing on residential and commercial buildings. The group works with subsidiary SGM Süddeutsche Gebäudemanagement to deliver the services.

Fink provides technical building services for heating, ventilation and sanitary systems. It focuses on building renovation and conversion projects, and also acts as a technical general contractor.

The group traces its roots back to 1896. It has a headcount of 350 and generates revenues of €60m.

People
Gimv – Maja Markovic (principal).
Köberl Group – Armin Köberl, Karl Köberl (managing directors).

Advisers
Company – Taurus (M&A).
Equity – Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (legal); PwC (commercial due diligence); Ebner Stolz (tax); Accuracy (financial due diligence).

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