IMAP advises Felss Group on sale to Capvis

IMAP has advised the owner of Felss Group, a technology leader in the field of cold-forming of hollow parts specifically for the automotive industry, on the sale of a majority stake to Capvis. A fund advised by Switzerland’s Capvis Equity Partners AG, will acquire shares from its previous sole proprietor Mrs. Christine Kienhöfer, who will remain a minority shareholder in the Group as well as member of the advisory council.

Founded in 1905, Felss Group today employs approximately 600 employees across six production sites in Europe, Asia and the USA. Annual revenues amount to approximately €125 million, having nearly tripled in the past decade. Felss Group serves numerous international blue-chip automotive suppliers and OEMs, including Bosch, GKN, IFA Rotorion,VW and Mercedes Benz. Its product range comprises highly-engineered cold forming machine tools, as well as customized light-weight precision components. Capvis is a leading private equity company based in Switzerland. As one of the most active investors in German speaking Europe, Capvis invests from its €720 million fund mainly in majority stakes of leading, mid-sized companies. Since 1950, Capvis has managed approximately 50 transactions worth more than €50 billion.

With Capvis, IMAP successfully found an investor who is very experienced in managing corporate successions. Capvis will support the Felss Group with equity as well as with management experience in international expansion and tapping into new customer groups. Vendor Mrs. Kienhöfer stated: “It was pivotal to find an investor who shares our philosophy and values and who understands the synergies stemming from an integrated machine tool and component manufacturing.”

IMAP managed the succession process on behalf of the seller in less than six months, in a limited auction and in close cooperation with the legal advisory team from CMS lead by Dr. Antje Becker-Boley. IMAP’s advisory team consisted of Dr. Carsten Lehmann (Managing Director), Dr. Joachim Koch (Partner), Nils Keller (Director) and Marcel Madjarac (Analyst). The transaction is subject to approval by the anti-trust authorities.