Equita sells Karl Eugen Fischer to Equistone

Kim Richters
05 August 2013

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Equita has sold its majority stake in Karl Eugen Fischer (KEF), a German provider of cutting systems for tyres, to fellow private equity house Equistone Partners Europe.

Equistone's investment was made via its Equistone Parnters Europe IV vehicle, which held its final close in January this year on €1.5bn. According to unquote" data, investments from the fund will range from €50 to €300m.

Debt for the transaction was provided by Commerzbank, BayernLB, NordLB and Sparkasse Coburg-Lichtenfels.

According to Peter Hammermann, senior partner at Equistone Partners Europe, the private equity house acquired KEF because it sees the firm as a "hidden champion" with a market share of almost 70%.

Equita doubled the amount initially invested in KEF after selling its stake to Equistone, the firm stated. The Bad Homburg-based private equity house originally acquired KEF in 2008.

Following the acquistion, Equistone and the KEF management team are now sole owners of the business's shares.

Company
KEF was founded in 1940 and is based in Burkundtstadt, Upper Franconia. It employs more than 450 staff and had revenues of €76m in 2012. It produces cutting machines that assemble plies and breakers, which give the tyre shape and provide stability when driving. It supplies to international tyre manufacturers, with a focus on emerging countries such as China.

People
Simone Thies is commercial manager at KEF. Michael Hönig, Hansjörg Schnabel and Christine Weiss led the transaction for Equita. Peter Hammermann, Marc Arens and Leander Heyken led the transaction for Equistone.

Advisers
Equity – Robert W. Baird (Corporate finance); Watson, Farley & Williams (Legal).
Vendor – Ashurst (Legal); Ernst & Young (Financial due diligence, tax, operational due diligence); N+1 (Debt advisory); AMR International (Commercial due diligence).