Seafort Advisers buys three businesses from Auctus

Seafort Advisers, which was founded in August 2013, invested via Seafort Advisers I, a private equity fund raised in order to acquire the three targets. The overall transaction value was €50-70m, about 40% of which was a debt package provided to Seafort Advisers by German bank Commerzbank.

The Hamburg-based GP now owns a stake of around 82% in each company, while the firms' management teams own approximately 18% in each case. The fresh capital will be used to expand the firms' international footprints, with the GP planning to grow the companies organically as well as through add-on acquisitions.

Seafort Advisers had been circling the three firms since Q4 2012, until Auctus agreed to sell the companies in a transaction intermediated by Mummert & Company. Seafort initially bid for the firms without having actually raised the fund in the first place. The GP only had an investor agreement stating that institutional backers from France, the UK and the US would commit to the fund as soon as Seafort was able to acquire the firms.

Around two months ago, Seafort secured firm commitments from the institutional investors. Even though the fund was raised on an ad hoc basis, the management fees, hurdle rate and carried interest follow industry standards, the GP stated.

Seafort Advisers will aim to start raising another fund, Seafort Advisers II, from January 2014. It seeks to invest in mid-market companies with revenues up to €50m across Europe.

The first of the three companies to be bought by Auctus was Dieter Braun, which was bought in May 2008. DialogFeld was acquired by the GP in June the same year. Two years later, Auctus bought Cologne-based Noventiz via its Auctus III vehicle.

Company
Noventiz provides recycling and waste disposal solutions to companies in the packaging and recyclable material sectors. Founded in 2007, the firm has a customer base of around 1,000 clients while employing an estimated 42 staff.

DialogFeld is a marketing agency that currently employs 500 staff across six branches in Germany. Headquartered in Nürnberg, DialogFeld operates in the German-speaking region as well as eastern Europe.

Dieter Braun manufactures lighting for the automotive sector, with a focus on vehicle interiors. It was founded in 1993 and currently employs 800 staff.

People
Patrick Hennings-Huep and Johann Herstatt are both co-founders and managing directors of Seafort Advisers. Ingo Krocke is the founder and CEO of Auctus.

Advisers
Equity – Argonas Corporate Finance Advisors (M&A, debt); CMS Hasche Sigle (Legal); Credit Suisse (M&A).
Vendor – Mummert & Company (Corporate finance);.

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• Topics
• DACH
• Support services
• Industrials
• Buyouts
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• Germany
• AUCTUS Management GmbH & Co KG
• Secondary buyout