Ardian backs Gantner MBO

Katharina Semke
17 February 2016

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French GP Ardian has acquired a majority stake in Austrian electronic hardware producer Gantner.

Ardian bought the company from Identec Group together with Gantner's management, which now holds a minority stake. The GP plans to boost growth by tapping into new markets as well as seeking bolt-on acquisitions.

A debt facility was provided by North LB, unquote" understands.

The acquisition represents the 13th investment from Ardian's Expansion Fund III, which held its final close on €450m in April 2014, with €50m in co-investments.

Company
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Schruns, Gantner develops and produces contactless radio frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC) electronic access control and staff time recording products. The company supplies its technology to leisure facilities such as fitness clubs, water parks, public pools and spas, as well as universities, libraries and other commercial and public buildings.

The solutions include access control, electronic locking and locker systems, cashless payment, cash registers and billing systems. Gantner operates in 60 countries and has subsidiaries in Germany, the UK, Dubai and Australia.

The company employs 200 staff and had revenues of €36m in 2015.

People
Gantner – Elmar Hartmann (managing director).
Ardian – Dirk Wittneben (head of expansion Germany).

Advisers
Equity – Deloitte, Egon Sachsalber, Johann Christoph Pfeiffer (financial due diligence); Goetzpartners, Georg Hochleitner, Norbert Danneberg (commercial due diligence); Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Mario Schmidt, Maximilian Schwab, Jan Willms (legal); Binder Grösswang, Thomas Schirmer, Bernd Schneiderbauer, Hermann Schneeweiss (financial due diligence); Taxess, Gerald Thomas, Richard Schäfer (tax); Aon, Christoph von Lehmann, Hans Jörg Pezzei (insurance due diligence); ERM, Werner Schulte (environmental due diligence); Commerzbank, Wolfgang Frey (M&A).
Vendor – Frieders Tassul & Partner, Christian Tassul, Edgar Langeder (legal); Altium, Alexander Grünwald, Thomas Eulau, Nicola Sprenger, Arjeta Berisha (M&A).