Raubach – Funds advised by Gilde Buy Out Partners (“Gilde”) are pleased to announce the acquisition of Gundlach Automotive Corporation (“GAC” or the “Group”) together with management from companies controlled by Pon Holdings B.V. (“Pon”). The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. GAC is a leading aftermarket distributor of tires, rims, completely fitted wheels and related services to car dealerships and wholesalers in Germany as well as wheel assembly services to blue-chip car OEMs in Europe. The Group was formed under the successful leadership of the senior management team of Reifen Gundlach to form a leading European platform in 2017. GAC now encompasses Reifen Gundlach (a leading brand for premium tire and wheel distribution for over 45 years), PTG Automotive Solutions and Services (just-in-sequence wheel assembly for car OEM production), RG Automotive Solutions (winter wheel assembly services for OEM brands) as well as Euro Tyre (global tire purchasing organization) and Goodwheel (eCommerce tire platform). Operations are based in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands. Commenting on the transaction Gebhard Jansen, CEO of GAC, says: “We thank Pon for the fruitful cooperation under their period of ownership and we are proud of the over 650 employees to be part of our Group and with whom we look forward to jointly enter a new chapter in our success story. With Gilde we found a strong partner to continue and accelerate our growth strategy to become the leading player in the tire and wheel distribution market.” Rogier Engelsma, Partner at Gilde, added: “GAC represents a very attractive opportunity for us to invest in a leading player in the European tire and wheel distribution market. We are impressed with the Group’s track record of consistent growth and its unique set up to serve multiple levels within the supply chain. GAC is in an excellent position to further build on this solid foundation and to become the number 1 integrated player in the European tire and wheel distribution business. We are excited to support GAC during this next phase of development.” Read more at: http://gilde.com/news/2018/gilde-buy-out-partners-and-management-acquire-gundlach-automotive-corporation

HAMBURG – January 16, 2018 – H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with more than €20 billion of equity capital under management, announced that one of its affiliates has acquired a majority interest in Beinbauer Group (“Beinbauer”).

Beinbauer, headquartered in Büchlberg near Passau, Germany, is a leading provider of complex machined metal parts (iron, steel, aluminium) for the European on- and off-highway commercial vehicle industry (OEMs and other tier-1 suppliers). Beinbauer’s core competencies are the machining of components and assemblies in state-of-the-art production processes as well as building and managing complex supplier networks, offering its customers all-in-one solutions for axle, frame, chassis and engine parts from a single source. Beinbauer operates four production sites in Germany and has approximately 700 employees. In 2017, Beinbauer generated revenues of more than €200 million. The Beinbauer management team, headed by Tobias Lührig and Patric Meeth, will continue to lead the Group.

Wolfgang Biedermann, Managing Director at H.I.G. Europe commented on the transaction: “Led by a dedicated and highly experienced management team, Beinbauer has shown a strong development in recent years and demonstrated that it plays an important role as a reliable supplier to the European heavy vehicles industry. With its clear focus on offering its customers a highly flexible “one-stop-shop” solution, Beinbauer can further strengthen and expand its position in an attractive market segment of the European automotive industry. H.I.G. will support Beinbauer in increasing its market position in the solidly growing commercial vehicle market, both by organic growth and via strategic acquisitions. H.I.G. is looking forward to the partnership with Mr. Lührig and Mr. Meeth as well as the entire Beinbauer team.”

Tobias Lührig, Managing Director of the Beinbauer Group said: “With H.I.G., we have exactly the right partner on board that can ideally support the Group in implementing its planned expansion course over the next years. We look very much forward to working with H.I.G.”

Patric Meeth, also a Managing Director of the Beinbauer Group, adds: “Through this partnership, Beinbauer will benefit not only from H.I.G.’s financial resources, but also from its substantial experience in the development of new markets and, most importantly, in identifying attractive acquisitions.”

About Beinbauer Group
For more than 40 years, Beinbauer has been a reliable partner for leading OEMs of the commercial vehicle, agricultural, construction machinery, rolling stock and car industries. The Beinbauer Group was established in 2013 by the merger of Beinbauer Automotive GmbH & Co. KG and Wagner Automotive GmbH. The core competencies of both companies include the machining of components and assemblies in state-of-the-art production processes as well as building and managing complex supplier networks. Beinbauer Group offers its customers all-in-one solutions for axle, frame, chassis and engine parts from a single source. For more information, please refer to the Beinbauer Group website at www.beinbauer-group.de.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over €20 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach:

1. H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
2. H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
3. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of €28 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

H.I.G. European Capital Partners GmbH is a legally independent advisor to H.I.G. Capital LLC, H.I.G. Europe Capital Partners, L.P. and H.I.G. Europe Capital Partners II, L.P.

* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.

AUTO1 Group, Europe’s leading multi-sided platform for the used car sector, today announced a € 460 million investment by SoftBank Vision Fund. The investment, of which around half will be made through the issue of new shares, values AUTO1 at €2.9 billion and will support the Group’s continued growth and international expansion. DN Capital led the Series A round in 2013. AUTO1 Group’s technology enables dealers as well as private individuals to trade seamlessly throughout Europe via an analytics and logistics platform that most efficiently matches supply and demand for used cars. Since launching in 2012, AUTO1 Group has expanded into more than 30 countries, trading with over 35,000 professional partners and selling over 40,000 cars per month. SoftBank’s Akshay Naheta will join the AUTO1 Group board following the investment.

AUTO1 Group Co-CEO Hakan Koç said: “We are delighted to welcome SoftBank Vision Fund, one of the largest tech funds in the world, as an investor in AUTO1 Group. We believe that the Fund’s deep investment and technology expertise will help us to accelerate our growth as we continue to focus on making the used vehicle market more efficient and transparent.”

Akshay Naheta, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisors, said: “AUTO1 Group has built a fast growing, data-enabled platform introducing efficiency and transparency to the fragmented used car market, which is worth more than $300 billion annually. The SoftBank Vision Fund’s capital and our operational expertise with marketplace businesses will support continued global growth.”

About Auto1 Group

Founded in 2012, AUTO1 Group is Europe’s leading multi-sided platform for the used car sector. As an independent multi-brand platform, AUTO1 Group is aimed primarily at the used car trade and offers over 35,000 professional partners the opportunity to access a diversified portfolio of more than 40,000 vehicles. By connecting buyers and sellers through technology the company enables dealers and increasingly consumers to trade seamlessly throughout Europe. AUTO1 Group owns business units like AUTO1.com, Autohero.com or wirkaufendeinauto.de. AUTO1 Group matches supply and demand for used cars in over 30 countries. In 2016 the company sold more than 300,000 vehicles and achieved revenues of EUR 1.5 billion. For more information please visit www.auto1-group.com.

About DN Capital

DN Capital is a leading early stage and growth capital investor focused on Seed, Series A and select series B investments in marketplaces, digital health, fintech, SaaS, digital media, e-commerce, mobile applications and software companies. The firm was founded in 2000 and has operations in London, Berlin and Silicon Valley. DN Capital’s previous funds are top performers and the firm is one of the lead investors in companies such as Endeca (sold to Oracle), Shazam (one of the world’s leading mobile apps), Auto1 (world’s largest used car marketplace), Purplebricks (IPO London) and Quandoo (sold to Recruit). The professionals at DN Capital bring over 75 years of private equity & venture capital experience to their investments, and actively work with portfolio companies to steward their growth through the various stages of development. Additional information about the firm and its portfolio companies can be found at http://www.dncapital.com.

For further information

Kanira Shah

Investor Relations

DN Capital

Kanira@dncapital.com