IMAP advises shareholders of KW-Kranwerke AG on the sale to Nimbus

The German-Dutch industrial holding nimbus hands-on investors has acquired Mannheim-based KW-Kranwerke AG (KWM). As part of the company’s succession plan, the previous main shareholder, Karl-Philipp Schneckenberger, sold his shares to nimbus effective January 1st 2019; the Executive Board remains on board.

The crane builder KWM has around 90 employees and recently generated a turnover in excess of 20 million euros. The company enjoys among others, a strong market position in the design and manufacture of overhead cranes for customers in the waste-to-energy (WTE) and substitute fuels (EBS) markets (e.g., municipal waste incinerators). The range of services includes new crane construction, equipment servicing including the sale of spare parts as well as retrofitting (modernization of existing crane systems currently in operation). In addition, the company also sells special cranes and dredgers.

With the help of the new owner which boasts extensive experience in special machine construction, KWM intends to strengthen its market position and expand its service and retrofit areas. "With the entry of nimbus, we have gotten an experienced investor with whom we can systematically expand our core business," stated Wolfgang Tomek, CEO of KWM.

The industrial holding nimbus, founded in the Netherlands in 1999, has a portfolio of more than 30 European manufacturing companies. It selectively acquires companies that are at a turning point in their development and actively supports them in their realignment and growth. Principal new investment criteria at nimbus include targets having a healthy core business as well as growth and optimization potential through new developments and operational restructuring.

The IMAP team headed by Peter A. Koch (Managing Partner) and Florian Böschen (Director) advised the shareholders of KWM exclusively on the search for a suitable investor.