Established in 1941 and headquartered in Luxembourg, Tractel provides working-at-height solutions and services used in many end-user applications, including in industrial, construction, energy, telecommunications and infrastructure projects. The Company has global operations, including manufacturing facilities spanning Europe, North America, China, Singapore and Turkey, which are supported by dedicated centres of excellence in R&D, engineering and safety standards. Tractel has a global network of more than 10,000 industrial distributors in 120 countries. This network of expertise, experience and geographical locations allows Tractel to achieve global reach with a local presence.

Cinven has a successful track record of investing in the Industrials Sector, and the sale of Tractel is another milestone in a very active two year period for the firm, despite global challenges, with the firm’s funds successfully realising investments in Chryso and Envirotainer, alongside making new investments in TK Elevator, a leading service provider and manufacturer of elevators and escalators, Arxada (formerly Lonza Specialty Ingredients), a leading provider of specialty chemicals for microbial control, and Bayer Environmental Science, a global leader in specialty pest management (completion pending).

Cinven’s Industrials Sector team, working closely with Cinven’s French team, identified Tractel as an attractive investment opportunity and the business was acquired by the Fifth Cinven Fund in October 2015. Cinven has worked in close partnership with the Company to achieve strong performance during its ownership, including through:

• Successfully growing the business through buy-and-build M&A, including completing two sizeable bolt-on acquisitions in the US and the Nordic region;
• Strengthening the management team with expertise from across the sector;
• Implementing international best practices to deliver commercial excellence, drive organic growth and optimise the operating model;
• International expansion, notably through significant growth in the United States and in the Nordics; and
• Enhancing Tractel’s product and service offering through significant investment in R&D and innovation.

Commenting on the investment, Pontus Pettersson, Partner at Cinven, said:

“Under Cinven’s ownership, Tractel has completed the acquisition of two significant businesses, successfully developing the brand and expanding the business. This has reinforced the strategic value of Tractel, and helped position the business for a trade exit. The combination of Tractel and Alimak will create a leading global business with significant opportunity for future growth, in a market where there is substantial room for further penetration of its products and services. We wish them the best in this next phase of their growth journey”.

Philippe Gastineau, CEO of Tractel, added:

“Cinven has provided significant support to Tractel over the last few years, most notably with two considerable acquisitions which have allowed us to expand substantially into our core markets. With increased investment in the development and innovation of our products, we now provide best-in-class solutions to our customers and clients and in turn, have become a world-leader in the working-at-height solutions market. We look forward to the next chapter of our growth journey as part of the Alimak Group”. 

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory and antitrust approvals.