May 16th, 2008
3i invests in Druckchemie
3i invests in Druckchemie: Source 3i announcement. 09.05.08.
3i, Europe’s leading mid-market private equity company, and funds managed by 3i have signed an agreement to back the buyout of DruckChemie, a speciality service provider to the printing industry, for €133m, including debts, from SG Capital Europe and Quartus. SG Capital Europe acquired Druckchemie in January 2006. DruckChemie realized in 2007 a turnover of around €70 millions and employs 220 employees.
DruckChemie provides the printing industry with speciality and solvent based chemicals, consumables and services such as regular deliveries, on site inventory management and waste collection. With a head office in Ammerbuch, Germany, DruckChemie operates 24 outlets across 10 European countries and Brazil and serves more than 6,000 customers. A market leader in both France and Germany, DruckChemie services the printing industry in over 50 countries with supplies of over 1,000 products.
3i has considerable experience of investing in the printing and business services sectors through its previous investments in Azelis, a pan-European company distributing speciality chemicals, and EDS Euro-DruckService, the leading web-offset printer in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. 3i’s investment will help DruckChemie to further pursue its successful growth strategy and develop strong market positions across all major European markets. Furthermore 3i’s global network of industry experts will provide the chemical service company with the ability to access previously untapped markets such as the US or Asia and add more technologically advanced products to its portfolio. Ulf von Haacke, 3i Partner commented, “We are delighted to be investing in DruckChemie, a leading service provider within its sector with a strong track record of profitable growth and a high cash conversion. We are convinced of the substantial growth potential for this business and look forward to supporting the experienced management team to achieve this.”
It is a very rapid ownership turnover for a company of this size.