Silverfleet sells Jost

Silverfleet Capital, the new name for buy and build specialist PPM Capital, has sold Jost World, a German manufacturer commercial vehicles components, to buyout house Cinven for a reported €525m.

Silverfleet has made a 3.1x return on its investment, with an IRR of 47%. It acquired the business in August 2005 fro Alpha Group in a €320m deal, and has grown the business both organically and through acquisitions.

Jost has its headquarters in Neu Isenburg near Frankfurt. Founded in 1952, it is the world leader in the manufacture of components for connecting truck and trailer units. It employs 2,000 personnel worldwide. It has production facilities in Western Europe, including the UK, CEE, Asia, Brazil, Africa and the United States.

Guido May, a partner at Silverfleet who was on the board of Jost said: “The business has seen exceptional growth over the last three years; organically and through acquisition – part of our buy and build strategy. The recent acquisition of Tridec, a specialist manufacturer of steering systems, axle suspensions and suspension systems, based in the Netherlands, is a good example of how a buy and build strategy can create business synergies.”

The is Silverfleets first exit since the name change and the buyout from Prudential in November 2007. Its last public sale came in 2007 which again saw Cinven as the buyer, this time with pharmacy company Phadia changing hands for €1.3bn.