Partial sale of WiTechs GmbH to Van Merksteijn International B.V. and B&S Industrieel Onderhoud from the Netherlands

WiTechs GmbH

WiTechs GmbH was founded in year 2007 as a 50 percent subsidiary of Ernst Koch GmbH & Co. KG and has been one of the most important technology leaders in the field of inline pre-treatment of wire. The service portfolio of the machine engineering company encompasses wire pay-offs, systems for the mechanical descaling of wire as well as the coating and cleaning of wire. The machines of WiTechs GmbH meet the most varied surface demands and provide productivity and savings potential at the same time. Moreover, WiTechs GmbH especially benefits from an international operating network that enables continuous integration of WiTechs machines in entire production lines. In 2018 the company generated a turnover of around € 6.3 million.

www.witechs.com

Entire Sales Process

On 5th August 2019, the management of WiTechs GmbH filed for insolvency at the district court in Hagen. By decision of 5th August 2019, the district court of Hagen appointed Dr. Markus Wischemeyer from White & Case LLP insolvency administration as (preliminary) insolvency administrator. By order of 1st November 2019, the insolvency proceedings concerning the assets of WiTechs GmbH were opened by the appointed insolvency administrator Dr. Markus Wischemeyer.

On 18th February 2020, the fixed and the current assets of WiTechs GmbH were taken over by Van Merksteijn International B.V. with headquarters in Almelo and by B&S Industrieel Onderhoud with headquarters in Hengelo, Netherlands. A new company will be operating under the name WiTechs B.V. and will be operating its activities from its headquarters in Hengelo, Netherlands.

The team of CVM Capital Value Management GmbH around managing partner Christian Lützenrath was mandated on 21st August 2019 by the management of WiTechs GmbH and by the preliminary insolvency administrator Dr. Markus Wischemeyer to conduct a structured investor process in consultation with the parties involved. Due to the successful collaboration with White & Case LLP insolvency administration and the management of WiTechs GmbH, CVM has successfully sold parts of the business to the two strategic investors from the Netherlands.

For more than 70 years Van Merksteijn International has been active in the steel industry, starting with a steel construction company, but soon developing into one of the world’s biggest producers of reinforcement products and fence elements.

www.van-merksteijn.com

B&S Industrieel Onderhoud was founded in 1946 and has become famous as an international industrial service and maintenance company. B&S offers its clients a complete package of services and options ranging from high-quality supply of parts, building machines according to customer requirements, piping and construction work.

www.bs.nl/

Capital Value Management GmbH (“CVM”) provides operational and independent corporate finance consultancy to companies going through transitional or restructuring processes as well as other exceptional situations. CVM has offices in Dortmund and Berlin. CVM’s focus is on guiding the transactions of medium-sized companies in industry, trade and services with a sales volume between € 10 and € 250 million. CVM designs, supports and coordinates the entire M&A process in close cooperation with the clients’ tax and legal advisors.

www.cvm-gmbh.de

The White & Case LLP insolvency administration is an international law firm with extensive insolvency and restructuring practice and is one of the leading insolvency administrator firms in Germany. Nationwide, White & Case is represented by a renowned team of 16 insolvency administrators and more than 200 employees at over 20 locations. During more than 30 years of service, White & Case has proven its legal and business know-how in more than 10,000 insolvency proceedings - from companies of all sizes and in all industries.

www.inso.whitecase.com

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