Capvis-backed Variosystems buys Solve Engineering

Solve will remain an independent company within the Variosystems group and will continue its relationship with existing customers, according to a statement.

The acquisition was financed with cash from Variosystems' balance sheet.

The GP bought a 60% stake in Variosystems in October 2018 via Capvis Equity V, which held a final close in September 2018 on €1.2bn. The fund is currently 50% deployed.

Variosystems reported sales of CHF 175m in 2017 and had around 1,700 employees at the time of the acquisition.

Asked about how the deal came about, Boris Zoller, partner at Capvis, told Unquote: "The companies had been working together for more than 10 years and Variosystems used Solve as an engineering partner. We first approached them last summer. We did a lot of the due diligence last year."

Both companies have remained resilient to the coronavirus crisis, Zoller said. "Neither company is currently feeling a negative impact from the crisis – Variosystems is benefiting in fact, as one of their largest clients produces ventilators and has placed large orders, so they have already been growing in 2020."

"The rationale for the acquisition was acquiring knowledge and engineering capacity. We now have 50 engineers and have just expanded into software engineering," he added.

Following the acquisition, the combined companies will have 1,600 employees and a turnover of CHF 200m.

Zoller told Unquote that although the acquisition is the first during Capvis's investment period, and in fact the first in Variosystems' history, the company is open to further bolt-ons. "We are open for further business in add-ons and we are putting a little more focus on expansion of production in south-east Asia, eastern Europe and Mexico."

Company
Solve specialises in electronics and software engineering, and also assists clients with the planning, implementation and maintenance of projects related to Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things.

The company is based in Buchs, Switzerland, and was founded in 2000 as a spinout from Interstaatlichen Hochschule für Technik Buchs (NTB). It has 30 employees according to its website and reports turnover of around CHF 5m.

People
Solve Engineering – Daniel Gillmann (managing director).
Variosystems – Norbert Bachstein (co-CEO).
Capvis Equity Partners – Boris Zoller (partner).

Advisers
Acquirer – Niederer Kraft Frey, Ulysses von Salis (legal); EY, Stefan Lagana (tax).

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