H.I.G. Europe Acquires Prefabricated House Specialist HanloJoint investment with Solidus Partners is first step in building a European market leader in environmentally friendly construction
LONDON & GRAZ – July 18, 2011 – H.I.G. European Capital Partners (“H.I.G.”), the European arm of leading global private equity investment firm H.I.G. Capital has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the Austro-German Hanlo Group through the newly founded Green Building Group GmbH. The acquisition is a joint investment with Solidus Partners LLP (“Solidus”), the investment vehicle of Philippe Graf von Stauffenberg. Together with the well-known brands “Hanlo” and “Bau mein Haus”, Hanlo will continue under the umbrella of Green Building Group GmbH, based in Graz, Austria.
The aim of the Green Building Group GmbH is to become a European leader in environmentally friendly prefabricated construction through internal growth and further acquisitions. Dr. Wolfgang Marka, a seasoned manager with years of experience in the prefabricated construction industry has been appointed Managing Director of Green Building Group GmbH. Dr. Marka was previously General Manager at the international Haas Group. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Based in Graz, Austria, and Freiwalde, Germany, Hanlo is a market leader in prefabricated construction in the German-speaking region with turnover of over EUR 60 million for the current year. As a pioneer in its sector, the company benefits from over 35 years of experience and more than 50,000 satisfied customers. In addition to family homes, Hanlo also builds commercial projects, including retirement homes and nurseries. Hanlo has developed an outstanding reputation through its commitment to excellent quality and architectural sophistication.
“With the Green Building Group GmbH we aim to be the European market leader in environmentally-friendly and sustainable housing and commercial building construction and to do so with the highest quality standards,” said Dr. Wolfgang Marka, CEO of Green Building Group GmbH. “Through the use of sustainable resources and significantly improved insulation, prefabricated construction is an energy-saving, environmentally friendly alternative to conventional construction and will gain increasing market share.”
Dr. Marka and Phillippe von Stauffenberg, supervisory board chairman of the Green Building Group GmbH, will work closely with Hanlo’s existing management team at sites in Austria and Germany. In addition, Hanlo founder Hanno Loidl will remain active in the company in an advisory role. The aim is to fully utilize the potential of Hanlo through strengthened sales initiatives, international expansion, improved commercial construction activities, as well as through the extension of the product portfolio with complementary services.
The Green Building Group GmbH is the second partnership between H.I.G. and Solidus focused on sustainable business, following the acquisition of a stake in the recycling company Der Gruene Punkt – Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD) in February 2011.
“H.I.G. has significant experience with buy-and-build strategies. Together with Solidus, we will assist the Green Building Group’s management team with further acquisitions of medium-sized prefabricated manufacturers to create a European market leader,” said Dr. Matthias Allgaier, Managing Director of H.I.G. Europe.
“We are convinced that so far there are too few businesses capitalising on the trend of environmentally-friendly construction. We want to take advantage of this and consolidate prefabricated construction companies with low energy intensity building processes that use renewable materials. With Dr. Marka, Hanlo’s experienced management team and H.I.G.’s international presence, we are optimally positioned to achieve our goals,” said Philippe Graf von Stauffenberg, Managing Partner of Solidus.
H.I.G. and Solidus have already identified other companies that ideally complement Hanlo. Further acquisitions are planned over the next few months.
The acquisition of Hanlo is subject to merger control clearance.
About Hanlo
Hanlo is a market-leading provider of energy efficient prefabricated houses in the German speaking region. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Graz, Austria, with production sites in Freiwalde and Ziesar in Germany as well as international distribution outlets in Great Britain, Netherlands, France and Poland. Hanlo markets its houses under the Hanlo and Bau mein Haus brands and has a strong track record in commercial construction of multi-storey buildings. With more than 35 years experience and over 50,000 satisfied customers, Hanlo stands for exceptional quality and architectural sophistication. www.hanlo.at
About Solidus Partners
Solidus is an investment platform for private investors. Under the lead of Philippe Graf von Stauffenberg, Solidus focuses on companies with growth potential where Solidus can add value as an active operational partner. The current Solidus Partners portfolio companies in which Philippe is active as Chairman or acting Chairman of the Supervisory board are Klassik Radio, Mood Media, as well as the German Recycling Platform DSD. www.soliduspartners.com
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than €7 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, New York, and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as affiliate offices in London, Hamburg and Paris in Europe, H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well managed manufacturing or service businesses. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 50 companies with combined revenues in excess of €6 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.