Halder acquires Wback in MBO

Kim Richters
05 July 2013

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Halder Beteiligungsberatung has backed the management buyout of German bun producer Wback.

Wback's management and Halder jointly acquired the business, with the buyout firm now owning a majority stake in the company.

The investment, done through the Halder-GIMV Germany II fund, will be used to back the expansion of Wback's production around Germany and abroad. The focus on marketing and sales will also be increased.

Co-founder Peter Wendeln is the only former Wback owner who remains shareholder while relinquishing management responsibilities. Willy Weiler and another partner, who wishes to remain anonymous, sold their stakes in the business. The former management initiated the sale.

Halder-GIMV Germany II had raised €325m within a year when it closed in 2008, €50m more than its initial target. Wback is Halder's sixth investment from this fund.

It is Halder's second MBO in as many months, having backed the management of Aqua Vital Gruppe, a producer of water dispensers, in a buyout in June this year.

Company
Wback is a German hamburger and hotdog bun producer based in Bönen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Founded in 2004, it expanded in 2008 in the south of Germany by opening a second plant in Leipheim, Bavaria.

Producing in excess of two million buns a day, Wback posted a turnover of more than €30m last year, a figure expected to rise to €40m in 2013. The company employs 131 people.

People
Finance and sales director Matthias Geiβer and production and technology director Dirk Hauer joined Wback's management. Both have been with the company since inception. Peter Wendeln is the co-founder of Wback and will remain a shareholder.

Christian Muschalik is an investment manager at Halder. Marcus Rauschenberger is partner at Halder. Michael Wahl is also a partner at Halder. Fredrik Elmberg and Claus F. W. Kiefer are both senior advisors.

Advisers
Equity - Mayer Brown, Markus Strelow, Frank David Endebrock (Legal); PricewaterhouseCoopers, Johannes Weiler, Patrick Bardens, Ellen Dinges (Corporate finance); Lars Lawall, Marcus Hillen, Christian Gerke (Tax); Gruppe Nymphenburg Consult, Thomas Rotthowe, Benjamin Bauer (Commercial due diligence); ERM, Werner Schulte, Alexander Witschas, Florian Dirner (Environmental due diligence); Willis GmbH & Co. KG, Edmund Strößer, Albert Höyng, Christina Scholle (Insurance due diligence).