DBAG's Broetje bolts on Dürr subsidiary ATS

Harriet Bailey
13 August 2014

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Broetje Automation, a portfolio company of Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG), has acquired the aircraft assembly subsidiary of mechanical and plant engineering group Dürr, dubbed Aircraft & Technologies Systems (ATS).

Broetje has formed the newco Tec4Aero in order to acquire ATS.

As part of the transaction, Dürr will take a minority stake of 11% in Broetje and will receive a cash component. New production sites are planned for the combined company's expansion.

The merger will enable Broetje to provide a complete aircraft assembly line; Broetje conducts drilling and riveting for airframes, while ATS provides conveyer systems and production line equipment. Both companies act as general contractors for production systems for aircraft construction.

According to Broetje, the merger will open up opportunities that had not been accessible to the two companies individually.

The deal is DBAG's second brush with Dürr in the space of a month. In mid-July, DBAG sold its 20% stake in mechanical engineering company Homag Group to a subsidiary of Dürr after 17 years of ownership.

Previous funding
In January 2012, DBAG bought Brötje from Claas Group and changed its name to Broetje Automation. It became part of Claas in 2002 and generated approximately 3% of the group's turnover.

The investment was made from DBAG's fifth fund and DBAG's management team.

At the time of the deal, unquote" reported that Broetje had its sights set on expansion into the Chinese and Russian markets and was looking into the wind energy sector.

Company
ATS is headquartered in Bietigheim-Bissingen and has a production plant at Wyhlen. Both locations will be retained following the merger, as well as the company's 120 employees. The business generated revenues of approximately €35m in 2013.

Founded in 1979, Broetje operates across Europe, Asia and the US, where it has multiple sales and service centres. In 2013, the 500-strong company generated revenues of around €100m. Headquartered in Wiefelstede, it also has a production site in Jaderberg. It develops and produces machines and complete lines for the automated production of aircraft.

The combined Broetje Automation Group will have a total of 650 employees working at 20 locations worldwide. Yearly turnover is expected to hit €150m.

People
Bernd Schröder is CEO of Broetje. Rolf Scheffels is a member of DBAG's management board. Ralf Dieter is CEO of Dürr. Uwe Siewert is head of ATS.

Advisers
Equity – CMS Hasche Sigle, Hendrik Hirsch, Holger Pattberg, Malte Grützmacher, Arne Nordmeyer, Oliver Simon, Michael Rein, Tobias Bomsdorf, Arno Gotting, Heinrich Schirmer, Marcus Fischer (Legal).