DBAG's Dahlback completes bolt-on

Harriet Bailey
09 July 2014

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Dahlewitzer Landbäckerei, a bakery chain backed by Deutsche Beteilungungs AG (DBAG), has rescued Nord Holding portfolio company De Mäkelbörger from administration.

Lila Bäcker, a subsidiary of Dahlback, made the acquisition with additional financing from DBAG. As part of the transaction, De Mäkelbörger's manufacturing operations in Neubrandenburg and Wustermark bei Berlin, as well as almost all of the local branches, were acquired by Dahlback.

The bakery will now see its staff numbers almost double to 3,000, its turnover will increase from €99m to approximately €150m and it will own 500 shops across east Germany.

Previous financing
In April this year, Steadfast Capital sold its majority stake in Dahlewitzer Landbäckerei (Dahlback) in an MBO backed by DBAG. DBAG itself invested €9.9m and holds a 13.7% stake in Dahlback, while DBAG Fund VI, a fund advised by DBAG, took the remainder.

According to unquote" data, Steadfast backed an MBO of Dahlback in October 2005, with the Konrad family retaining a shareholding in excess of 10%. The private equity house then invested again in December 2010. Senior debt facilities were provided by Rabobank, NIBC and Nord LB, with debt making up more than 60% of the deal value. NIBC remains in the debt consortium financing DBAG.

Together with the management team, Nord Holding acquired De Mäkelbörger from Hannover Finanz for an undisclosed amount in May 2009. According to unquote" data, Hannover Finanz had a participating interest in the company from 1991 to its sale in 2009.

In May 2011, Nord Holding backed De Mäkelbörger Backwaren to acquire 85 Kamps branches in the Berlin metropolitan region as well as the production facility at Prenzlauer Promenade.

Company
Founded in 1965 in Neubrandenburg, De Mäkelbörger is a wholesale bakery and deep frozen pastries specialist. It has 1,200 employees in more than 120 branches and 50 franchises and, at the time of Nord Holding's acquisition, it had a turnover of €50m. The bakery filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of May.

People
Volker Schülke is managing partner at Dahlewitzer Landbäckerei. Nick Money-Kyrle is a founding partner at the firm and the current chairman of the Dahlback board.