EQT scoops up German bakery BackWerk

Following the transaction, BackWerk's former owners will remain minority shareholders. The fresh funding from EQT will be used to open new stores in Germany and further the firm's international expansion.

The deal is EQT's third investment in Germany so far this year. Previously, EQT bought Avenso, an online retailer for photographic contemporary art, in September.

Company
BackWerk is a self-service bakery chain. It currently operates 300 stores across mainly German-speaking regions, but recently also opened stores in the Netherlands, the UK, Slovenia and Romania. BackWerk works with around 220 franchise partners. In 2012, the firm reported revenue of €162m.

The company was founded in Essen in 2003, where it is still headquartered. BackWerk employs approximately 2,300 staff.

People
Hans-Christian Limmer and Dirk Schneider co-founded BackWerk. They will remain CEOs. Hasso Kaempfe is EQT's industrial adviser and chairman of the BackWerk board of directors.

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• Topics
• DACH
• Buyouts
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• Germany
• EQT