Funds advised by Equistone Partners Europe (“Equistone”) today announce the sale of their majority stake in OTTO Life Science Engineering GmbH (“OTTO LSE”) to the listed SPIE Group (“SPIE”). With the acquisition of OTTO LSE, SPIE, a European market leader in multi-technical services focused on energy infrastructure and communications, is further expanding its presence in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector. OTTO LSE’s management team, led by founders Alf Kain and Sascha Herz, will acquire a minority stake in the business. Completion of the transaction is subject to the customary approval by the relevant competition authorities and is expected to take place in the second half of 2024.

OTTO LSE is a specialised provider of EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology production facilities and laboratories. The company is an established player in the market, providing turnkey solutions which cover the entire value chain, from planning, designing, and delivering to re-qualifying. OTTO LSE’s 140 experienced employees serve a high-calibre international customer base, particularly in the areas of process design, pure media, cleanrooms and building technology. In addition to its headquarters in Nuremberg, OTTO LSE operates five other locations throughout Germany, and in 2023 generated annual sales of c.€75 million.

In 2017, the Equistone funds acquired a majority stake in OTTO Life Science Engineering, in a targeted expansion of their previous shareholding in OTTO Luft- und Klimatechnik into the business areas of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and cleanroom technology. Following the successful sale of OTTO Luft- und Klimatechnik to Engie GmbH in January 2019, the Equistone funds supported the management team in the further development of OTTO LSE, resulting in exceptionally high organic growth, profitability, and an overall money multiple of 9.7x.

With the sale to SPIE, OTTO LSE’s comprehensive EPC service competencies in pharmaceutical and biotech will be integrated into the listed group, significantly expanding its presence in these sectors. SPIE, with its subsidiary SPIE Germany & Central Europe and more than 50,000 employees in total, operates as an independent market leader for multi-technical services in the energy and communications sector.

“With the support of the Equistone funds and a total of 400 projects implemented since 2017, we have been able to build a strong foundation for our future growth in recent years. We want to build on this success with our new partner and use our comprehensive knowledge of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector to help drive SPIE’s growth,” said Alf Kain and Sascha Herz, founders of OTTO LSE.

Markus Holzke, Managing Director and CEO of SPIE Germany & Central Europe, said: “With OTTO LSE we continue the development of our expertise in Germany in very attractive markets and we are delighted to welcome the Management and its highly skilled collaborators. This combination will allow to further develop the business and reinforce our market position across Germany.”

Oskar Schilcher, Senior Partner in the Munich office and Chief Investment Officer at Equistone Partners Europe, commented: “OTTO LSE has developed excellently during the more than five years of our partnership, growing into a significant player in the EPC services market. This result testifies to the outstanding entrepreneurial performance of the entire management and the rest of the OTTO LSE team, who have built the company from the ground up.”

OTTO LSE marks the sixth full sale of a portfolio company by the Equistone funds in 2024, continuing the firm’s series of successful exits.