AXA Private Equity, the leading European diversified private equity firm, has acquired a majority stake in the Phönix/Strack Group, a leading manufacturer of high-quality special valves for international blue chip companies in the fields of energy, petrochemicals and chemicals.
The Group’s products are sold under the brand names Phönix and Strack. It was founded in 1910, and remained in private hands until now. Managing partners Lothar Fichtner and Markus Rosam will continue to implement the company’s growth strategy. AXA Private Equity, with its longstanding track record of successful and disciplined investments worldwide, will support the implementation of this strategy.
The Phönix/Strack Group generates approximately €40 million in revenue annually with its 250 employees at plants located in Volkmarsen and Magdeburg as well as through its sales entities in France and the USA. Thanks to its recognised quality, innovation and engineering expertise, the Phönix/Strack Group has continually strengthened its market position over the past five years. Following the acquisition of the majority stake by AXA Private Equity, the company plans to increase its international presence through acquisitions and by exploiting existing market opportunities.
Lothar Fichtner, Managing Partner of Phönix, said: “AXA Private Equity is our partner of choice with whom we will continue to pursue our growth objectives in the coming years.” The energy sector is an important business segment for the Phönix Group. Phönix solutions are employed in both conventional power plants and the regenerative energy.
Dirk Wittneben, Managing Director of AXA Private Equity, said: “Phönix/Strack is an extremely well positioned company with outstanding products. The partnership makes perfect sense as, using our experience in helping companies grow, we can support Phönix, in its continued strategic expansion. As a stakeholder we are looking forward to working together with the experienced management team to achieve a common objective of continued growth.”
About Phönix/Strack
The Phönix/Strack Group supplies the chemical industry, refineries and conventional power plants the world over with high-quality special valves in all standards (DIN, ANSI, ASME, etc.). Numerous product and system certifications (ISO 9001, HP0, PED 97/23, VdTÜV 1065, Fire Safe, Stoomwezen, GOST, TSSA, ABSA, Euro Chlor, API, KTA 1401) and environmental management systems in compliance with DIN EN ISO 14001, UOP ensure optimal safety and reliability of Phönix/Strack valves. Phönix/Strack is a global technological leader in the field of bellows valves and bellows recorders. The product range also includes measurement line valves, shuttle valves, check valves, spigots, screen basket filters, high-pressure recorders and valves as well a wide range of special valves such as alkylation valves and safety valves for the aerospace industry. State-of-art processing technology, highly qualified employees, ongoing cooperation with international standards organizations, sales offices in important markets and subsidiaries in France and the USA ensure a high level of customer support.
Phönix Armaturen-Werke Bregel GmbH Strack GmbH
www.phoenix-armaturen.de www.strack-valve.de
About AXA Private Equity
AXA Private Equity is a leading private equity firm with US$25 billion in managed assets and a global reach extending across Europe, North America and Asia. The firm offers investors the full spectrum of private equity services for every market segment: direct funds, infrastructure financing, mid cap and small cap buyouts, venture capital, co-investments, fund of funds as well as mezzanine financing.
With offices in Paris, Frankfurt, London, New York, Singapore, Milan, Zurich and Vienna, AXA Private Equity supports the development and long-term growth of its portfolio companies with sustainable growth strategies and by granting them access to the AXA international network. AXA Private Equity has earned the trust of its investors by regularly supplying them with transparent performance data on its funds and portfolio companies.
AXA Private Equity, Global Investments the European way
www.axaprivateequity.com
List of involved actors and transaction advisors
AXA Private Equity:
Dirk Wittneben, Marc Abadir, Florian Korp
Buy-side Advisors:
Legal: Salans LLP (Holger Scheer, Anika Seidenfaden)
Structure/Tax: SJ Berwin (Gerald Thomas, Richard Schäfer)
Financial: PWC (Steven Roberts, Eric Hummitzsch)
Commercial: LEK (Christoph Huth, Friedrich Demmer)
Insurance: Aon (Thomas Holle, Manfred Esser)
Environmental: ERM (Werner Schulte, Veit Köllermann)
Banks:
Commerzbank (Karsten Wegener)
RLP (LBBW) (Dirk Bunkenburg)
Sell-side Advisors:
M&A Advisor: LBBW Equity Partners/goetzpartners Corporate Finance (Michael Goehr, Andreas Rauh)
Legal: Oppenhoff & Partner (Ronald Meißner, Tina Kasten)
Press Contacts
AXA Private Equity
HeadLand Consultancy
Ben Girdlestone
Tél. : +44 (0)20 7367 5243
bgirdlestone@headlandconsultancy.co.uk
Imogen Harvey
Tél. : +44(0)20 7367 5235
iharvey@headlandconsultancy.co.uk