Bird & Bird advises founder of BBS Automation on the takeover by Dürr
Contacts
International law firm Bird & Bird has advised company founder Josef Wildgruber and a minority shareholder on the sale of BBS Automation to Dürr AG. Dürr acquired 100% of the shares of Rome HoldCo GmbH (Munich), the holding company of BBS Automation. The Seller is a consortium led by financial investor EQT. Company founder Josef Wildgruber will continue to lead BBS Automation.
The enterprise value of BBS Automation ranges between EUR 440 million and EUR 480 million and depends on the development of results in 2023. Financing will be provided from cash flow as well as through existing financing instruments and a bridging loan.
Bird & Bird had already advised Josef Wildgruber and the existing shareholders of BBS Automation on the investment by EQT in 2018.
BBS Automation, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Garching near Munich (Germany), has around 1,200 employees and 14 locations in Europe, Asia, and North America. Around 55% of sales in 2023 are expected to be attributable to systems for the production of automotive components, especially for the e-mobility sector.
Dürr AG is one of the world's leading mechanical and plant engineering firms with extensive expertise in automation, digitalisation and energy efficiency. The group primarily supplies the automotive industry, producers of furniture and wooden houses as well as the chemical, pharmaceutical, medical devices, and electrical engineering sectors. In 2022 Dürr Group generated sales of EUR 4.3 billion.
With the acquisition of BBS Automation, Dürr accelerates its strategic expansion in the growth segment of automation technology and expects sales in this segment to double to around EUR 500 million in 2024.
Founder Wildgruber was advised by the following Bird & Bird lawyers: Partner Stefan Münch (lead), partner Stephan Kübler, LL.M., counsel Dr. Christina Lorenz, LL.M., associate Louisa Graf (all Corporate/M&A, Munich) and partner Dr. Rolf Schmich (Tax, Frankfurt).