STAR Capital (“STAR”), a leading European fund manager, announces that it has reached an agreement to sell Blohm+Voss GmbH (“Blohm+Voss”), one of Germany’s leading shipyards specialising in in the building, maintenance, repair and refitting of naval vessels and mega-yachts, to the Luerssen Group, a highly respected family owned shipyard that has been active in the shipbuilding sector since 1875. The consideration for the transaction is not disclosed and the transaction will be subject to the approval of the German Federal Cartel Office.
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STAR acquired the Blohm+Voss group of companies from ThyssenKrupp in December 2011 at a time when significant restructuring and downsizing was being planned. The transaction included the acquisition of: Blohm+Voss Industries (“BVI”), a provider of highly complex marine components; Blohm+Voss Repair (“BVR”), a ship repair and conversion business; Blohm+Voss Oil Tools (“BVOT”), a provider of pipe handling equipment to the oil and gas sector; and Blohm+Voss Shipyards (“BVS”), a shipbuilder focused on luxury mega yachts, naval vessels and services.
STAR was determined to secure the long term future of the shipyard having identified the skills and qualities of the Blohm + Voss Group and immediately committed additional capital to support the required restructuring process. The businesses unrelated to the shipyard were separated and sold to a range of high quality industrial companies. The remaining companies, BVS and BVR, were merged into one entity and a new management team was brought in to restructure the business, making it more customer driven and efficient. For the first time in decades Blohm+Voss went into product development resulting in a spectacular yacht design in co-operation with the late Zaha Hadid and developed the BV80, a pioneer in the 80m length yacht class. Additionally, Blohm+Voss laid the foundation for the future of its naval vessel business by successfully joining one of the three final bidding consortiums for Germany’s next generation of frigates, the MKS180.
As a consequence of these actions, and a new business plan created in close partnership with its employees and their representatives, Blohm+Voss is now well positioned for the future.
Commenting on the announcement, Paul Gough, Managing Partner of STAR, said: “The acquisition of these four businesses was a huge responsibility. STAR’s investment horizon allowed us to take a long term view and to provide the necessary financial support to develop an appropriate plan for each business. It is a credit to the management team that they have achieved so much under our ownership. In addition, we all recognise the important role that the employees and their representatives have had in securing the future of this iconic and globally renowned shipyard.
Our investments in the Blohm+Voss businesses add to our highly successful investments in Germany that have included residential care provider, Alloheim, combined heat and power provider, GWE, cable operator, Pepcom and most recently the data centre operator Globalways.”
Tony Mallin, Chairman of STAR, said: “In addition to creating strong returns for our investors from these four businesses, we are pleased to be playing a role in helping to create a German national champion in naval and civil shipbuilding and look forward to seeing the combined business achieve considerable success under Luerssen’s ownership.
Ernst von Freyberg, Chairman of BVS, added: “ThyssenKrupp as well as Blohm+Voss employees placed enormous trust in STAR in 2011. STAR’s role in helping this business to develop a long term future has been fundamental – it is an example of private equity investment at its best, creating sustainable value for all stakeholders. I am pleased that STAR has been careful to ensure that our new owner, Luerssen, is committed to the future of Blohm+Voss.”
About STAR
STAR is a European private equity fund manager with over €1 billion in assets under management. The company was founded in 2000 with the goal of acquiring and developing asset-based businesses either in partnership or independently. STAR is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
www.star-capital.com