CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP AT RAFI GMBH & CO. KG

Frankfurt, January 2020. ACXIT Capital Partners acted as the exclusive M&A and financial advisor to the shareholders on the trade sale of RAFI GmbH & Co. KG, a leading supplier of electromechanical components, electronic assemblies and systems for human-machine communication, to funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”).

In recent years, RAFI has recorded strong growth, particularly in the development and manufacture of complex customer-specific operating systems and aims to further expand its position as an innovation leader worldwide.
The previous owners, Albert Wasmeier and Gerhard Schenk, are convinced that they found the right partner for RAFI group to preserve the company’s identity, safeguard jobs, secure the continuity of the management team, drive the group’s growth and continue to internationalize.

Albert Wasmeier and Gerhard Schenk commented: “With the completion of the sale, we have reached our last milestone as the management and owners of the RAFI group by ensuring our succession and the continuation of the company. We are convinced that in Oaktree we have found the right owner who will successfully continue the development of RAFI and pursue its internationalization strategy”.

Hermann Dambach, German Managing Director at Oaktree, explains: “RAFI offers technologically leading operating systems. We see strong demand for these products worldwide. The knowledge of the employees, the quality and performance of the products and the well-established customer relationships continue to be the foundation for the success of the RAFI group in the future”.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction. Furthermore, the companies RAFI Dekotec in Steißlingen and RAFI Syscom in Mexico are not part of the transaction and will remain with their existing shareholders.

About RAFI group

Founded in 1900 as an “Electrotechnical Institute”, the company develops and produces electromechanical components and systems for human-machine communication. These include buttons, switches, touch screens and operating systems as well as electronic assemblies. RAFI products are used in automation and medical technology, mechanical and plant engineering, road and rail vehicles, household appliances and in telecommunications. The RAFI group operates worldwide with 2,500 employees at locations in Germany, Europe, China, the USA and Mexico. RAFI group’s headquarters are located in Berg near Ravensburg.

About Oaktree

Oaktree is an asset management company majority-owned by the Canadian listed company Brookfield. The investor manages investment assets of around USD 120 billion, which are invested internationally. Oaktree has been active in Germany since 2004 and has invested in sectors such as residential construction, commercial real estate, packaging, food production, healthcare and logistics.

About ACXIT Capital Partners

ACXIT Capital Partners is a leading international corporate finance and investment advisory firm for mid-market clients and entrepreneurs in Europe and beyond. Since 1998, we offer our clients comprehensive corporate finance advisory services including M&A and capital markets advisory as well as restructuring, debt and strategic advisory. As an independent, privately owned firm we maintain offices and representations in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Hong Kong and New York as well as strong alliances in UK, France and India.

 

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Patric Garvin
Director, Strategic Communications

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Phone: +49 69 92037 125
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E-mail: patric.garvin@fticonsulting.com

 

TRANSACTION TEAM ACXIT Capital Partners

Thomas Klack, Managing Partner
Johannes H. Lucas, Managing Partner
Ruta Hildebrand, Managing Director
Philipp Berteit, Director
Daniel Rival, Associate