Patrimonium acquires Roth Group in SBO from Equistone

Harriet Matthews
16 October 2020

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Patrimonium Private Equity has acquired Switzerland-based fire protection and construction company Roth Group in an SBO from Equistone.

Patrimonium will own a majority stake in the company, while the company's existing minority shareholders will retain their stake in the business.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in July 2020 that Equistone had mandated Zetra International to advise on the sale of Roth Group. Equistone acquired a majority stake in Roth in an SBO from Ufenau in 2016, investing via Equistone Partners Europe V, which held a final close in April 2015 on €2bn. The sale generated returns for Ufenau of 4.4x money.

Under Equistone's ownership, Roth acquired market peers Nyfeler + Keller, Intum, Werner Isolations and Tolisol.

Patrimonium invested via Patrimonium Private Equity Fund, which is currently on the road with a target of €200m. The fund held a first close on €100m in March 2020. The fund invests in companies with turnover of €20-150m and enterprise values of €10-120m, deploying equity tickets of €15-35m.

Acquisition finance for the deal was arranged by Swiss banks.

Andreas Ziegler, director at Patrimonium, told Unquote that the GP's growth plans for the company will not initially focus on making further add-ons: "Roth has made eight add-ons in the past four years, so our short-term strategy is focusing more on optimising the structure and processes, supported also by digitalisation. We will also look to add more products and services for the customers in the Swiss construction industry, potentially also through buy and build."

Ziegler did not specify a potential exit route for the company, but told Unquote: "Our credo as investors is making smaller companies relevant, which means that we will try to develop it into an important partner for its customers based on a strong USP. Our exit history of more than 80% trade sales proves that we can make companies relevant to important and often international market participants."

Patrimonium has previously invested in construction-related companies Bauwerk Boen, which specialised in parquet flooring, and faucet producer Similor Kugler.

Ziegler added that Patrimonium will bring synergies for Roth Group via its real estate asset management division. "Patrimonium as a broader group is a large investor and developer in the Swiss real estate market, so we have know-how and synergies, and we can bring more to Roth's development due to our exposure to this sector." Patrimonium's real estate team conducted commercial due diligence for the transaction.

Asked about Patrimonium's deal pipeline, Ziegler said: "Roth Group is the second platform investment from our new fund following the acquisition of Hübner Oberflächentechnik in Germany. We are looking to make one more platform over the next couple of months, plus one add-on."

Company
Roth Group was founded in 1958 and specialises in construction projects focused on fire protection services, including insulation and cladding for buildings. It undertakes both private and public construction and fire protection projects.

The company employs 450 people and reported revenues of CHF 75m in 2019, compared with revenues of CHF 65m at the time of Equistone's investment. Roth Group is based in Gerlafingenand and has 14 subsidiaries at 11 locations in Switzerland.

People
Patrimonium Private Equity – Andreas Ziegler (director); Werner Schnorf (managing director); Kurt Hitz (investment director).
Equistone Partners Europe – Philippe Stüdi (partner).
Roth Group – Stefan Blaser (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Alvarez & Marsal, Patrick Schaub (financial due diligence).
Vendor – Zetra International, Jens Pardey (corporate finance); Baker McKenzie, Alexander Fischer (legal).