DEAL OF THE YEAR
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Katjes International Acquisition of Piasten
Company: Katjes International GmbH & Co. KG Name: Tobias Bachmüller Email: info@ katjes-international.de Web: www.katjes-international.de Address: Kaistrasse 11, 40221 Düsseldorf, Germany Phone: +49 2822 601 700
Katjes International Acquisition of Piasten In September 2014, German confectionary company Katjes International acquired Piasten, the largest German producer of sugar-coated products. Tobias Bachmüller, Managing Shareholder of Katjes International, told us more about the deal and how it fits in with Katjes International’s continuing expansion across Western Europe. Katjes International GmbH & Co. KG, together with its (legally independent) sister company Katjes Fassin GmbH + Co. KG (Katjes Germany) is part of the Katjes Group. The sister companies pursue somewhat different business models, which are not in competition with each other. Within the Katjes Group, despite being legally independent, both companies benefit from being part of a larger Group which allows capturing different synergy potentials, combining experience and existing business relations and market access. Katjes International is the acquisition vehicle of the Katjes Group and in this function a holding company focused on
participations in sugar confectionery companies with strong brands. Strategic approach for dynamic growth Katjes International pursues a buy-and-holdstrategy with a long-term view and the goal to leverage synergy effects among its participations, increase the operating performance and to further develop the brands. “We have, in our view, demonstrated this successfully with our largest participation, Lutti France, which is France’s No. 2 brand in its sector” says Tobias Bachmüller,
Katjes International’s headquarter are located in Dusseldorf, Germany
Managing Shareholder of Katjes International. “In addition, we aim to create cross-selling potential across our holdings and support our holdings in entering new markets. Our participations therefore typically remain legally independent entities and continue to be operated by the existing local management. We believe in the idea of “local people for local markets.‑” This differentiates Katjes International, in our view, from many of our competitors.” “Our geographic focus is on Western Europe and it is our strategy to grow both externally by acquiring confectionery companies with strong brands and organically through the existing brands in our portfolio,” states Bachmüller. Katjes International focuses on the sugar confectionery market in Western Europe with the following rationale: Firstly, sugar confectionery is our DNA, and as a strategic investor we focus on what we know and what we do best. This also allows us to minimise risks within our strategy to grow through acquisitions. Secondly, Western Europe represents 60% of the population, 70% of the GDP and 71% of the confectionery market of the EU. Hence, it is a very large market offering sufficient opportunities for further growth. Thirdly, operating mainly in the single currency Euro area removes foreign currency risks from our business and provides a familiar and stable legal framework for our operations.
24 Acquisition International January 2015