IK exits Bahr Modultechnik in EUR 98m trade sale

Ero Partsakoulaki
31 May 2022

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IK Partners is to exit Germany-headquartered modular electric linear motion systems producer Bahr Modultechnik in a EUR 98m trade sale to IMI, a UK-based engineering company.

Closing is expected to take place by mid-June 2022.

The purchase price implies a multiple of approximately 13.5x stand-alone forecasted 2022 EBITDA, according to a press release from IMI.

Bahr's founders and co-CEOs Cihan Halavurt and Dirk Bahr will remain with the business post-acquisition.

IK Partners originally acquired Bahr via its IK Small Cap II Fund in 2018, according to a press release from IK. The fund held a final close in February 2018 on its hard-cap of EUR 550m, according to Unquote Data. The fund makes majority buyouts in companies with an enterprise value up to EUR 100m across the DACH region, the Nordics, France and Benelux, including selected minority buyouts.

IK agreed earlier this month to sell Dutch cable and connectors manufacturer 2Connect, a company acquired by the GP in November 2018 via its IK Small Cap II Fund.

Bahr grew its revenues at a 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through the pandemic from 2019 to 2021 and experienced 27% growth for the first four months of 2022. A CRM system was also rolled out during IK's ownership, according to a press release from IK.

The acquisition of Bahr will be both margin and growth accretive to IMI and the acquisition will deliver a financial return in excess of IMI's cost of capital by the end of year three, according to a press release from IMI. The deal was financed from IMI's existing resources.

Bahr's modular system aligns with IMI's business model and the bolt-on acquisition will provide an electric actuation portfolio that is highly scalable in attractive markets, according to the same press release.

Company
Founded in 1990 by the brothers Frank and Dirk Bahr in Luhden, Germany, Bahr Modultechnik produces modular electric linear motion systems. Its positioning systems are required in a wide variety of markets in relation to automation, including pharmaceutical production, packaging and labelling, as well as warehouses, factories and other specialised applications. The company has approximately 80 employees and its linear systems, composed of profiles, guides, and drives, are sold in more than 24 countries around the globe.

People
Bahr − Dirk Bahr (founder and co-CEO); Cihan Halavurt (co-CEO).
IK Partners − Nils Pohlmann (partner).
IMI − Roy Twite (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor − Houlihan Lokey (M&A); Deloitte (corporate finance); Renzenbrink (legal).