Capvis buys Nicko Tours

Carmen Reichman
29 January 2013

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Capvis has bought a majority stake in river cruises operator Nicko Tours as part of a succession plan.

The founder, Ekkehard Beller, reinvested for a significant stake in the company and will continue as a member of the board of directors.

Capvis acquired Nicko in a limited auction process, organised by Ramcke & Co, in which it outbid other private equity houses. The business attracted Capvis by offering a succession solution and outperforming other players on a structurally attractive market, which posted 8% yearly growth in the past few years, the GP told unquote".

The firm plans to stick with Nicko's fast growth strategy. The company, which is currently run via separate entities in Germany and Switzerland, will be consolidated into one holding company in Switzerland.

Debt
Capvis invested only equity in this transaction, while taking over the company's existing debt structure.

Company
Nicko is a specialist operator of river cruises that covers the entire value chain from developing and marketing tours to ship operations. The group achieved a turnover of €115m in 2012. The company was founded in 1992. It currently serves around 80,000 passengers and employs 70 people.

Nicko owns 33 ships operating 40 routes across Europe, Asia and Africa. The group consists of Nicko Tours in Stuttgart, and Alpina River Cruises, Bernina River Cruises and RCM River Cruises Management in Switzerland.

Advisers
Equity – Lazard, Timo Knak (Corporate finance); Raupach & Wollert-Elmendorf (Legal); Bär & Karrer (Legal), Maconda (Commercial due diligence).
Vendor – Ramcke & Co (Corporate finance).