Apax acquires Mannesmann

Funds managed by Apax Partners have acquired Mannesmann Plastics Machinery Group (MPM) from Atecs. The deal was supported by debt provided by Credit Suisse First Boston and Helaba (Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen). The value of the transaction and the debt structure were not disclosed. The sale is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities.

MPM forms part of Atecs’ Mannesmann Demag Krauss Maffei division, one of the company’s five subsidiaries. Atecs (Advanced Technologies) is Mannesmann’s engineering and automotive division, it was sold to Bosch/Siemens last April (when Vodafone acquired Mannesmann) in preference to an IPO. The subsequent sale of MPM implements Atecs’ previous strategy of spinning off the division in order to focus on its core portfolio.

MPM was restructured in 1998 to group together all the plastics processing technology activities of the Mannesmann group, a total of six companies. The companies use their individual names and operate in competition to one another. The role of MPM, based in Munich, Germany, is to co-ordinate between the manufacturers and encourage intercompany synergies. The businesses that make up MPM are Berstorf, Demag Ergotech, Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik (all in Germany), Netstal-Maschinen (Switzerland), Billion (France) and Van Dorn Demag (US).

Apax intends to pursue a buy and build strategy, expanding the market position of the MPM group in the international moulding and extrusion business. Following the acquisition the current management team will remain in place.