Author: Josef

ARX Equity Partners (“ARX”), a private equity firm with a 20-year track record supporting the growth and development of mid-sized companies in Central Europe, has today completed the sale of its investment in Slovenian healthcare services provider, Diagnosticni Center Bled doo (“DCB”).

The divestment has generated an overall 3.6x cash-on-cash return multiple and an IRR exceeding 25%.

DCB has been acquired by a joint venture involving Sava Re and Triglav, two of Slovenia’s largest insurance companies. The takeover of DC Bled represents an important step for Sava Re and Triglav respectively towards the implementation of their strategic expansion into the Slovenian private health services market.

Headquartered in Bled, DCB is the largest private healthcare service provider in Slovenia. The Company provides comprehensive outpatient and inpatient medical services across six locations. DCB performs more than 20,000 specialist examinations per annum, primarily in the areas of gastroenterology, urology and MRI.

ARX acquired DCB in 2015 to develop its already robust business and best-in-class, specialist medical capabilities as a platform to further consolidate and grow its market leading position in the Slovenian diagnostics sector. This objective was successfully achieved during the period of ARX ownership with four strategic add-on acquisitions completed and the company doubling in size.

ARX classifies Slovenia as one if its core Central European focus markets. ARX’s track-record for the geography includes several successful Slovenian investments that have led to three profitable exits over the past decade.

ARX Equity Partners (“ARX”) completed the majority acquisition of TES Vsetin (“TES“). Headquartered in Vsetin, Czech Republic. TES (http://www.tes.cz) is an engineering company engaged primarily in the manufacturing of system components related to electrical machines, in addition to the design and manufacturing of its own proprietary electric machines, such as generators and electric motors. TES supplies critical components and machines to several blue-chip customers across various industries. The company generated revenues of over € 60 million in 2018 and currently employs around 600 technically skilled staff.

ARX acquired the business from an affiliate of Advent International. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, ARX has agreed to partner with the company’s existing management team, who will lead the future growth and development of the Company.

TES represents the fourth investment from the ARX IV fund.

Following an approval by regulatory authorities, ARX Equity Partners (“ARX”) has completed an exit of its investment in Polish manufacturer of internal and external custom made sun shading systems Anwis Sp. z o.o. (“ANWIS”) via a sale to Novaco Invest GmbH, a subsidiary of WAREMA Renkhoff SE (“Warema”). The ARX investment into ANWIS generated an overall 3.3x cash-on-cash return multiple and an IRR of over 30%.

ARX acquired a majority shareholding in ANWIS from the retiring founder in late 2014, with the intention to leverage the company’s technical capabilities, strong domestic market position, wide product range and advanced internet-based ordering solutions in order to grow and internationalize the business. This strategy positioned the company to benefit from the fast growth of the e-commerce channel in key export markets of Germany and the Netherlands. Over the past five years ANWIS retained its profit margins, while consistently growing sales and more than doubling headcount.

The ANWIS investment is consistent with the ARX focus on Central European growth investments. ANWIS is a producer of custom-made window coverings and one of the leading manufacturers of window coverings and related components in Europe. The company has been operating in the region for over 40 years and has recently seen rapid growth, with sales reaching € 32.6 million in 2018, with around 50% of production exported to Western Europe. ANWIS capitalizes on its market leading position in Poland and the rapid expansion of e-commerce in Germany and the Benelux countries.

The ARX exit was executed via a sale to WAREMA Renkhoff SE, a German family owned company divided into two divisions: Sun & Living Spaces and Plastics & Engineering, with more than 3,800 employees around the world. Warema enjoys a leading market position based on the strength of solutions it provides and innovations it develops in the sun protection segment. In both of its divisions it places importance on growing competencies incorporating innovative technologies.

Sava Re d.d. as buyer and Cinxro Holdings Ltd. (which is an affiliate of ARX CEE III LP) have entered into a contract under which Sava Re d.d. will acquire 80 percent of the share capital of the Slovenian company Diagnostični center Bled d.o.o. (“DC Bled”), representing 100 percent of voting rights. The completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of certain suspensive conditions.

The takeover of DC Bled represents an important step for the Sava Insurance Group towards implementing its strategy in the field of expansion to the market of private health services in Slovenia.

Flarna Holdings Limited, controlled by a fund managed by ARX Equity Partners  (“ARX”), has entered into a binding agreement for the sale of Anwis Sp. z o.o. www.anwis.pl (“Anwis”) to Novaco Invest GmbH, a subsidiary of WAREMA Renkhoff SE. The transaction is subject to approval by competition protection authorities and its finalization is expected in approximately two months.

ANWIS Sp. o.o. is a Polish manufacturer of internal and external sun shading systems founded in 1979 year. The company based in Włocławek (Poland), employs about 450 people and achieved a turnover of € 32.6 million in 2018.

WAREMA Renkhoff SE www.warema.com/en/company/ (“Warema”), domiciled in Marktheidenfeld in Lower Saxony, is the operative heart of and the holding company for a strong team of firms divided into two divisions: Sun & Living Spaces and Plastics & Engineering, with more than 3,800 employees around the world.

In recent years Warema Group has accelerated the internationalization of its sun shading business and Anwis will join the Group as an independent brand.

ARX Equity Partners won the Central and Eastern Europe Deal of the Year Award for VUES at the 2019 Real Deals Private Equity Awards ceremony, held in London on 24 April. 

The widely-renowned ceremony gathered more than 700 industry practitioners for its 18th edition to award symbols of recognition across the private equity sector. Finalists are established through research undertaken by Real Deals and Cass Business School, with support from Preqin data, then a panel of judges reviews the finalists and selects a winner.

ARX acquired a majority shareholding in VUES from retiring managers in 2006, then succeeded in capitalizing on the company’s inherent technical strengths and capabilities in order to significantly grow and internationalize the business over a long-term holding period. Over the past several years VUES expanded its profit margins considerably, while simultaneously growing sales and increasing headcount. The success of VUES confirms the know-how of local engineers and competitiveness of Czech R&D, which were prerequisites for the company’s expansion into increasingly demanding precision applications.

The ARX investment in VUES was exited via a sale of the company to NYSE listed Moog in early 2018.

ARX Equity Partners (“ARX”) is delighted to today announce the completion of the majority acquisition of a leading Czech-based facades business, Fenestra Wieden (“Fenestra“), and simultaneous add-on purchase of Skanska’s Czech facades operation (now collectively rebranded as Fenestra henceforth).

Going forward, ARX will partner with Fenestra’s senior management, who will retain a significant minority stake as part of the deal terms. The acquisition was completed on April 1, 2019 with the deal value undisclosed.

Fenestra is a producer and designer of aluminium-glass modular facade solutions serving customers throughout Europe. The newly combined Fenestra business (https://fenestra-wieden.cz/) employs more than 200 people, operating from two production sites in the Czech Republic with annual revenue forecast at approximately € 40 million.

Fenestra was founded in 1991 by Pavel Wieden, who established the business to utilise his track record and expertise in glass and aluminium construction. Fenestra is currently one of the leading Czech-based glazed-facade producers, providing complex solutions with a particular focus on design and performance for large-scale demanding projects, typically with building projects of over 10,000 sqm. Fenestra has recently completed several projects in Sweden, including the Karolinska Institute’s Ki Aula lecture hall project in Stockholm.

This combination of Fenestra and the Skanska facades operation has subsequently created a significant market player showcasing deep technical and design capabilities. The strategy of combining these businesses is to capitalise on their respective specialist strengths while also maximising the potential of increased productivity and broadening geographic reach of said new direction.

DC Bled has acquired the largest private healthcare provider in the Maribor area, Fontana (Medicinsko Termalni Center Fontana zdravstvo in rekreacija, d.o.o.) in March 2019, making DC Bled by far the largest private out-patient healthcare provider in Slovenia. Also, in January this year, DC Bled opened its new modern health center in Novo Mesto. These developments follow two clinic acquisitions completed in 2018. DC Bled now covers the entire country with its six clinics, over 100 employees, while serving more than 20,000 patients per annum. The company is planning additional acquisitions in 2019, led by its senior management team Lenca Moze (CFO) and Zvone Novina (CEO). All of these developments are aligned with DC Bled’s core objective to provide the highest quality medical care and service to its growing network of patients.

Further to regulatory approval, ARX Equity Partners / https://www.arxequity.com (“ARX”) has successfully completed the exit of its investment in Fincentrum / https://www.fincentrum.com,a leading, independent financial advisory business operating in the Czech Republic and Slovakia respectively.

Fincentrum facilitates the sale of mortgages, life insurance and investment products and boasts more than 3,000 financial advisors and a turnover in excess of €60 million. It ranks as the largest, independent distribution partner, primarily for banks and insurance companies, in the Czech and Slovak markets.

The ARX exit was finalised via a 100% sale to the Swiss Life Group / https://www.swisslife.com/en/swisslifegroup.html, a leading European provider of comprehensive life, pension and financial solutions. This acquisition strengthens Swiss Life’s presence in the region and positions the company as a clear market leader for independent financial advice in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Michal Aron, Partner at ARX, commented: “We are pleased that the achievements of Fincentrum over the past few years have positioned the company as an attractive acquisition target for a blue-chip strategic acquirer such as Swiss Life. Fincentrum has excellent long-term growth and development prospects and we believe that Swiss Life will be an ideal driver for the business going forward.”.

The divestment of Fincentrum to the publicly listed Swiss Life represents the third exit from the ARX Czech portfolio over the past 12 months to major internationally listed strategic acquirers. This series of successful exits was initiated by the sale of ARX portfolio company KVK Holding to Swiss listed Sika in Q4 2017 and was followed by the exit of VUES to NYSE listed Moog in Q2 2018. “The ARX exits achieved over the past 12 months are evidence of both the attractiveness of the Czech lower mid-cap market and the ARX investment focus as a whole. These transactions reaffirm that acquiring, developing and positioning lower mid-cap companies for exits to international strategic investors is a viable strategy for CEE”, said Brian Wardrop, ARX Managing Partner.

The transaction strengthens Swiss Life’s presence in this region and Swiss Life together with Fincentrum as a leading financial adviser in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Swiss Life acquires Fincentrum, an independent financial advisor founded in 2000 with more than 2,500 financial advisors and a turnover exceeding CZK 1.6 bn that is located in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Swiss Life Group is a leading comprehensive life and pensions and financial solutions provider across Europe. The offering of high-quality financial services for over 160 years has built an excellent reputation and a continuously strong financial standing. 

This acquisition strengthens Swiss Life’s presence in the region and positions the company as a market leader for independent financial advice in Czech Republic and Slovakia.

To ensure stability and sustainable continuation of both service offerings, Swiss Life Select and Fincentrum will retain their independent brand and sales leadership structure.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.