W.I.S. Sicherheit + Service GmbH & Co KG (Germany) - Jan 2008

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01 January 2008

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Argantis has acquired a majority stake in Cologne-based W.I.S. Sicherheit + Service GmbH & Co KG for an undisclosed amount as part of a management buyout. Heinrich & Cie was mandated to run the sales process. The former owners remain shareholders and management holds a minority stake. Argantis is looking to support the company’s growth strategy with a clear focus on further add-on acquisitions in this consolidating industry. This builds on positive and long-term sector growth and a number of previous acquisitions.

The German security market is worth around €4bn, and approximately €2.3bn annually is spent on security technology. Growth for both sectors is expected to reach around 3% per annum.

Debt

The transaction was supported by a debt package consisting of senior debt and mezzanine financing, as well as working capital and acquisition finance facilities. The mezzanine was provided by Mezzanine Management, all other facilities are being provided by Sal. Oppenheim.

Company

W.I.S. Sicherheit + Service GmbH & Co KG is the fourth-largest security services company in Germany, expecting to generate a turnover of around €117m in 2008 with 4,000 employees at 27 sites in Germany. Apart from security services, the company offers a range of complementary services to its customers, such as security consulting and staff and cleaning service.

People

Robert Stein, Ingo Jacoby and Stephan Göbel handled the transaction for Argantis. Christian Heidl, Robin Thywissen represented Mezzanine Management, while Thomas Gerstenhauer and Dejan Soldat worked on the debt package.

Advisers

Debt - Linklaters, J Zaich, Ralph Drebes (Legal)Equity - Close Brothers, Gerd Bieding, Norbert Schmitz, Thorsten Weber (Other Consulting)Equity - Maconda, Rainer Mayer (Commercial Due Diligence)Equity - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Brigitte Ellerbeck, Liam Naughthon (Financial Due Diligence)Equity - Willis , Albert Höyng (Insurance Due Diligence)Equity - Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Andreas Hautkappe, Mario Schmidt, Patrick Meiisel (Legal)Management - SJ Berwin LLP, Michael Trask (Legal)Mezzanine - Taylor Wessing, Peter Hellich (Legal)Vendor - BFJM Bachem Fervers Janssen Mehrhoff, Bernhard Schumacher (Legal)Vendor - Heinrich & Cie, Markus Krammer (Corporate Finance)