H2 Equity Partners is set to exit German industrial group Halex to Bencis Capital Partners.

Halex is made up of two businesses: metal hardening and heat treatment business Härtha Hardening and steel die manufacturer Halex Extrusion Dies. It operates across 12 sites in Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Romania and employs a workforce of around 460 FTEs.

Across H2’s four-and-a-half-year hold, the company made several add-on acquisitions, turned around its central support functions and saw its profits increase fourfold in the past five years, according to H2 managing partner Gert Jan van der Hoeven.

When H2 picked up the business in 2013, Halex generated over €40m in sales and employed around 300 FTEs.

H2 was advised by Lincoln International, Morrison & Foerster, Houthoff, Loyens & Loeff, PWC, and ERM while Bencis turned to Allen & Overy for legal matters.

H2 backs in businesses headquartered in the UK, Benelux and Germany with sales of up to €500m. A typical investment period for an H2-backed business is 5-7 years. The firm currently has a portfolio of 14 companies, generating around €1.5bn of sales.