Bad Homburg, 9 July 2018. HQ Equita Beteiligungen V GmbH & Co. KG, advised by HQ Equita GmbH (“HQ Equita”), has signed an agreement with the Swedish investor Alder Fund I AB (“Alder”) to acquire a majority stake in r2p GmbH (“r2p”), based in Flensburg. Simultaneously, HQ Equita will acquire Open Access Pty Ltd (“Open Access”) based in Sydney, to become a subsidiary of r2p, thereby extending the group’s global reach to Australia, Southeast Asia, and North America.
Founded in 2009 with headquarters in Flensburg, r2p is a rapidly growing technology group in the intelligent transport market, which develops both proprietary hard- and software, offering products and components for use in moving vehicles, stations and control centres. Alder, a Sweden-based growth investor, which focuses on majority investments in the sustainable technology sector, acquired r2p in 2012. Since then, r2p has made several add-on acquisitions in Denmark and the UK and has founded subsidiaries in Brazil and Switzerland, resulting in a competitive international presence. The current setup is enhanced by a close co-operation with Open Access, an Australian provider of technology and solutions for integrated passenger information and audio communication systems, active throughout Australia, Southeast Asia and through partners in North America. Upon closing of the transaction, HQ Equita will combine and integrate r2p and Open Access into one group to realise the untapped cross-selling potential arising from the two companies’ complementary product portfolios, applications and geographies. The combined group also seeks to become an active industry consolidator – aiming to acquire complementary technology and product solutions and to further increase its global delivery and service capabilities.
The management teams of both r2p and Open Access remain significant shareholders and are committed to growing the company further through active management and development of the group.
Henrik Flygar, Partner at Alder, says: “We have worked closely with r2p to build a strong international platform. With HQ Equita we have found a new owner for r2p, who has the necessary financial resources and network to continue to drive the group’s organic and inorganic growth. r2p will certainly benefit from HQ Equita’s sector expertise.”
Ulrik Rasmussen, CEO of r2p, adds: “With HQ Equita as our new owner, we will be able to consolidate the existing group, and build the required structures to accommodate further growth. The entire r2p management team is highly committed to further developing the group into a leading provider of intelligent transport solutions.”
Brendan Dooley, CEO of Open Access explains: “Open Access and r2p align well with respect to geographical coverage, technology and management experience. The merged group is well positioned to deliver compelling integrated solutions to the market. We look forward to working closely with HQ Equita.”
Hans J. Moock, Managing Director of HQ Equita, emphasizes: “The underlying intelligent transport market is expected to continue to grow at attractive double-digit rates in the next years. With the acquisition of r2p and Open Access, we seize the opportunity to participate in this promising growth case close to and overlapping with a product market we know well from our previous investment in MEN Mikro Elektronik. r2p’s integrated solutions portfolio and its cutting-edge technology combined with an extraordinary management team makes this acquisition an ideal platform for future inorganic growth.”
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price and other details of the contractual agreement. The closing of the transaction is expected for mid-July.
HQ Equita was supported in the transaction by the following advisors: DC Advisory (M&A, Debt Advisory), Gleiss Lutz (Law, Sales Contract, Taxes), civity Management Consultants (CDD), Rödl & Partner (FDD), Aon (Insurance, W&I), ERM (Environment, ESG).
Alder was supported in the transaction by the following advisors: Lincoln International (M&A), Deloitte (Finance, Taxes), White & Case (Law, Purchase Agreement).
About r2p
Headquartered in Flensburg, Germany, r2p is a globally active provider of IP-based system solutions for public transport covering communication, security and monitoring applications. The fully integrated portfolio of hard- and software products for passenger and fleet flow management r2p offers include CCTV, Passenger Information Systems (PIS), Passenger Announcement (PA), passenger counting, infotainment and fleet management with real-time data transfer and analysis for rail and road vehicles. The group has a network of subsidiaries in Denmark, the UK, Switzerland and Brazil. r2p currently employs around 117 people. For further information, please refer to www.r2p.com
About Open Access
Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Open Access primarily provides solutions for integrated passenger information and audio communication systems in the public transportation space. The group has a subsidiary in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and employs c. 53 people. It is primarily active in Australia, Southeast Asia and through partners in North America. For further information, please refer to www.oa.com.au
About Alder
Alder is a Swedish growth investor within the sustainable industry sectors focused on investments in proven and established companies with strong growth potential. Alder currently manages investment funds with committed capital of approximately EUR 200 million. For further information, please refer to www.alder.se
