Ventizz Capital Fund IV, L.P. acquires a majority stake in SSP Technology A/S
30. June 2008
Ventizz Capital Fund IV, L.P. signed the contract for the purchase of the majority stake in the Danish rotor blade manufacturer SSP Technology A/S on the basis of a total corporate value of about EUR 51 Mio. adjusted by Cash and Financial Debt (around EUR 7 Mio.) with Plambeck Neue Energien AG. Plambeck Neue Energien AG currently holds 67.26% in SSP, which will be completely transferred to Ventizz following receipt of the purchase price upon closing. As part of this transaction, 5.02% held by minority shareholders will also be sold to Ventizz under the same terms and conditions.
SSP Technology A/S was founded in 2001 and is active in the development, production and sales of rotor blade components for wind-energy plants and in specialized mould construction for the production of rotor blade components and rotor blades. With about 180 employees in Denmark, SSP has established itself as a provider of innovative and high-quality products for the wind-power industry and tripled its revenues to EUR 11.1 Mio. in the fiscal year of 2007. For 2008, a further tripling of revenues to about EUR 30 Mio. is being expected.
The corporate stake is stated with a value of EUR 5.1 Mio. in the group balance sheet of Plambeck Neue Energien as per 30.06.2008. "The sale of the shares in SSP is a high-income sale of shares for us, leading to free liquidity of EUR 35 Mio.", member of the Board Martin Billhardt points out.
Dr. Helmut Vorndran, Managing Partner of Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory AG, which advised Ventizz Fund IV in this transaction, explains: "In the wind-power industry, there is great demand for innovative and specialised components for wind-power plants. SSP possesses extraordinary knowledge in the areas of rotor-blade technology and mould construction and is in the position to serve the specific customers' demands. We are convinced that SSP is technologically in the ideal position to establish itself as a leading and independent provider in the wind-power industry. In order to enable this growth, the fund intends to provide further significant financing."
New Energies Invest AG, which has a stake in SSP since May 2007, will continue to support the international growth of the company. New Energies Invest AG welcomes Ventizz as a new investor and is looking forward to a successful cooperation.
The sale of the shares was accompanied by Corporate Finance Partners (CFP), Frankfurt, as a financial advisor. Ventizz Capital Fund IV L.P. was advised by Dewey & LeBoeuf, Frankfurt, KPMG, Düsseldorf and MAKE Consulting, Hojbjerg.
About the companies involved in this transaction:
Plambeck Neue Energien AG with its headquarter in Cuxhaven plans and realises wind-farm projects on land (onshore) and at high sea (offshore). Up to now, 84 wind-farms with 479 wind-energy systems and a total nominal output of 651 MW have been set up.
St. Gallen- and Duesseldorf-based Ventizz Capital Partners was established in 2000 and is advising funds which are investing in buy-outs and growth equity for small and medium sized high-tech companies primarily in German-speaking Europe. The three Partners of Ventizz, Dr. Helmut Vorndran, Reinhard Löchner, and Willi Mannheims, are currently exclusively advising four funds with a total capital under management of more than € 650 million. To date, funds advised by Ventizz Capital Partners have invested in 33 companies with a special focus in renewable energy/solar energy, high value add engineering, medical technology, and ICT. In addition to a variety of trade sales, Ventizz funds have achieved so far three successful IPOs (ersol, SAF, PV Crystalox).
Swiss-based New Energies Invest AG is a well-known, investment company in the area of renewable energies that was founded in the year 2000. Investment focus lies on companies active in the areas of solar and wind energy biomass, and other renewable energy sources. The total assets of New Energies Invest AG amounted to CHF 200 Mio by the end of 2007. Investment Manager is Remaco Merger AG in Basel, a corporate finance advisor specialised in medium-sized transactions.
CFP is an M&A consultancy company and investment boutique specialized on advising clients within the sectors Technology and Telecommunications in Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity/ Venture Capital placements with its registered office in Frankfurt am Main and subsidiaries in Berlin and Miami. Since formation in 1998, the team at CFP has carried out around 150 successful transactions between around EUR 5 Mio. to EUR 500 Mio. SSP has already been accompanied by CFP in a number of transactions since 2006.
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