Pinova buys Norafin Industries in MBO

The transaction's equity value sits in the €5-15m range.

Danish private equity firm MAJ, which bought Vernal (then Jacob Holm & Sons) through its LD Equity 2 fund in 2006, has not realised any value from the sale. Vernal, which according to reports is experiencing financial dificulties, also holds niche textile producer TYTEX.

Pinova plans to double Norafin's output capacity through organic growth in the coming years to live up to increasing customer demand, the GP told unquote".

The management team involved in the buyout is led by André Lang. It holds a 10% stake and will continue to run the company as an independent entity. Dr Angelika Westerwelle also acquired a stake of around 4% in the buyout.

Debt
Pinova usually uses little debt in its transactions and typically sticks to a ratio of one third debt to two thirds equity. The leverage ratio was more conservative for this particular deal, according to the GP.

Company
Norafin, based in Müllheim, manufactures speciality and technical non-wovens and composites for industrial markets, including the medical and protective clothing sectors.

Founded in the 1980s in East Germany, the business developed the first European spunlace production line together with the Research Institute for the Textile Industry, known today as STFI.

The company now employs 80 staff with further job openings in the pipeline due to strong demand for speciality textiles, according to Pinova.

People
Joern Pelzer, partner at Pinova, joined Norafin's board while Westerwelle was appointed as advisory board member.

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• Topics
• DACH
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Pinova Capital
• Germany