The European investment company Gimv has sold its majority stake in KÖBERL Group, a leading German provider of facility management and building technology services, to the Hungarian company B+N Referencia Zrt. (“B+N”), the facility management market leader in Central and Eastern Europe. Armin and Karl Köberl, co-owners and co-CEOs, will remain shareholders and managers.
Based in Aschheim-Dornach near Munich, KÖBERL Group (www.koeberl.group) can look back on over 120 years of history. Today, the company is an established partner in the areas of facility management and building technology. With around 600 employees, the Köberl Group offers comprehensive solutions for residential, commercial and industrial properties. Thanks to a clear focus on quality and customer orientation, the Group has established itself as a leading full-service provider.
Gimv with the Messrs. Köberl have, since the start of their partnership in 2020, invested strongly in the expansion and strategic development of the company as well as its further digitalization. In addition to significant organic growth, particularly in facility management and in other regions, the service portfolio was expanded with targeted acquisitions and focus on recurring customers and revenues was strengthened.
Armin and Karl Köberl, Managing Directors and co-owners of the KÖBERL Group, declare: “With Gimv, we had an experienced and reliable partner at our side who provided us with significant support in implementing our growth strategy. We are looking forward to the next chapter with B+N to continue our success story, open up new potential for our customers and offer our employees even more prospects.”
Ferenc Kis-Szölgyémi, Managing Director and owner of B+N, declares: “We are delighted to support the KÖBERL Group, together with Messrs. Köberl, in the next phase of growth, especially in the further international expansion and the strengthening of vertical integration, specifically in infrastructural facility management. With Gimv’s guidance, Messrs. Köberl have built a high-performance company that responds to the critical needs of its customers and has a DNA that combines service orientation, agility and proximity – just like B+N. We are therefore particularly proud to have convinced Messrs. Köberl of our ability to support them in accelerating the Group’s development.”
Maja Markovic, Partner Gimv Sustainable Cities and Advisory Board Member of the KÖBERL Group, adds: “Our partnership with the KÖBERL Group is a success story in the German market. Together with Messrs. Köberl, we were able to significantly accelerate the Group’s growth and expand the company to become a leading full-service provider in building technology and management – one of the core product and services areas of Gimv’s Sustainable Cities platform. We would like to thank the entire KÖBERL Group team for their trusting cooperation.”
With this transaction, Gimv once again demonstrates its expertise in building leading companies through sustainable value creation and its ability to develop successful partnerships with entrepreneurs and management teams. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2025.
Gimv anticipates a positive impact of approximately 1 euro per share on NAV as of September 30, 2024. The return achieved significantly exceeds Gimv’s long-term portfolio return target. The parties have agreed not to disclose further financial details of the transaction.
