Lyceum Capital has sold portfolio company Coperion Group to DeutscheBeteiligungs for €300m.
Coperion, based in Stuttgart, is the global market leader in compounding systems, materials handlingequipment and services for the plastics industry.
It has a strong presence in the food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals sectorsand is the only company in its market to have in-house knowledge andtechnology covering the entire value chain for bulk materials handling andprocessing plants.
Coperion has operations in 27 countries in Europe, Asia and North and South America.
Lyceum acquired a majority stake in Coperion at the end of 2002, taking fullownership last year. During its holding period it has repositioned the business in emerging markets and extended the product range.
Lyceum also augmented the management team, introducing chief executiveManfred Eiden, former president and chief operating officer of KoneCorporation, and Gunter Bachmann, previously chairman of the executive board of Heraeus Tenevo.
Ebitda has grown from a negative figure in 2003 to more than €40m in 2006 onsales of around ¤450m. Coperion’s contracted order book is also at record levels and the company now employs more than 2,000 staff.
Growth has been achieved by organic expansion and strategic acquisitions in new markets.
“We have worked with the Coperion team intensively since 2002 to build amajor business, based on the provision of outstanding service and technological know-how to customers in the company’s existing and morerecently entered markets,” said Lyceum’s Philip Buscombe.
Rolf Scheffels of Deutsche Beteiligungs added: “Coperion has the world-leading position in a growing market. We intend to support themanagement in continuing to improve and globalise the company. Coperion has huge potential to increase both equipment and service-related returns.”
