Clearwater advises Balcke-Dürr Group on the sale of Balcke-Dürr Polska to Wallstein Group

Transaktion

Balcke-DÃ¼rr Group sold Balcke-Duerr Polska Sp.z o.o to Wallstein Group

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Rolle

Adviser to Balcke-Dürr Group on the sale of Balcke-Dürr Polska to Wallstein Group

Sektor

Industrial & Chemicals

Region

Deutschland

Clearwater has advised Balcke-Dürr GmbH (Balcke-Dürr), a portfolio company of Mutares SE & Co. KGaA (Mutares), on the sale of Balcke-Dürr Polska Sp. z o.o. (Balcke-Dürr Polska), a leading manufacturer of filter systems for conventional power plants and industrial applications to Wallstein International GmbH (Wallstein).

Balcke-Dürr Polska is a leading global manufacturer of filter systems for conventional power plants and industrial applications. The Warsaw-based company is a leading provider of filter systems, conforming to the highest regulatory requirements in terms of outlet dust concentration in flue gas. Mutares acquired the company as part of the Balcke-Dürr Group transaction in November 2016.

Since taking over the Balcke-Dürr Group from SPX Corporation based in Charlotte, USA, Mutares has grown Balcke-Dürr Polska to more than double its turnover and increased its profitability almost fourfold. Focal points of that process have been the internationalisation of the business, the creation of a competence centre for filter applications as well as ensuring financial independence. Consequently, the entity achieved a technology-based competitive advantage which ultimately led to successful bids for a range of large and technically sophisticated projects. In 2019 the company generated turnover of €30m with a team of 60 employees. The company will act as Wallstein Rothemühle Sp. z o.o. and the entire management team will remain in the business.

The sale of Balcke-Dürr Polska is the first step of the Balcke-Dürr portfolio review performed by Clearwater followed by the start of strategic discussions with potential investors for Balcke-Dürr Rothemühle Group in Germany and China.

Wallstein International GmbH is part of the Wallstein group with its core competence in industrial heat and process engineering. The company ranks among Germany’s leading equipment and plant manufacturers and serves international customers in the waste incineration and power plant sectors as well as other industries. For thermal and environmental/process engineering applications, Wallstein supplies individual components as well as heat displacement systems and complete flue gas purification plants.

This transaction serves as a good example for the Mutares business model: At the time of the acquisition the Polish entity was a neglected unit in the large SPX Corporation. Due to the newfound focus and the successful repositioning we could increase market share substantially. The entity is now in a condition in which the sale to a strategic investor is feasible.
Robin Laik, CEO at Mutares

Balcke-Dürr Polska as a highly specialised provider of filter systems offers us substantial synergy potential in our Energy and Environment segment. After a successful return to a profitable growth path under the Mutares ownership, we will now focus on further expansion, both geographically and from a product perspective. The introduction into the Wallstein Group will open new applications to the excellent know-how of the teams in Poland.
Dirk Wallstein, CEO at Wallstein Group

We are very pleased to have accompanied the shareholders of Balcke-Dürr in this transaction with Wallstein, which will enable the Group to implement an ambitious development policy. To support Mutares in selling the Polish entity during these challenging times to an ideal new owner highlights Clearwater’s expertise in the industrial sector. The conventional power plants and related industrial applications business illustrates a highly attractive business model due to the non-cyclical service nature with associated stable cash flows and double digit margins.
Markus Otto, Managing Partner at Clearwater