Gimv, Paragon Partners (“Paragon”) and its minority investors are to sell 100% in WEMAS to Sekisui Jushi Corporation.
WEMAS (www.wemas.de) was established in 1971 and has grown into a full-range supplier of certified passive traffic safety products. The company is based in Gütersloh and employs more than 130 employees at two sites in Germany.
Under Gimv’s and Paragon’s ownership, WEMAS has strengthened its market leading position in traffic safety technology by making significant investments in product innovation, production automation and capacity expansion. As a result, the company has been able to launch new products and broaden its customer base, allowing it to accelerate growth both in Germany and abroad.
Maja Markovic and Ruben Monballieu, both Partner Sustainable Cities at Gimv, say: “WEMAS is a European market leader with an innovative product range and state-of-the-art production in Germany. We are proud of the company’s international growth during our holding period.”
Dr. Edin Hadzic, Founding Partner at Paragon Partners, adds: “We would like to thank the management team at WEMAS for their commitment and drive in executing this successful growth story.”
Dirk Gößling, CEO at WEMAS, concludes: “The management team is looking forward to continuing to offer innovative and market-leading solutions to our customers. In doing so, we will benefit from the complementary expertise and geographic presence of our new owner SJC.”
Paragon and Gimv were supported throughout the transaction by Alvarez & Marsal (financial), Reed Smith (legal), KPMG (tax) and William Blair (M&A).
The transaction has no significant impact on the Net Asset Value of Gimv as of 30 September 2023. Over the entire holding period Gimv realizes a return in line with the long-term portfolio return target. No further financial details will be disclosed.
