Future of premium fruit juice manufacturer Schlör secured by transferring restructuring
Munich, 21 April 2015. Schlör Bodensee Fruchtsaft AG, Radolfzell/Lake Constance, is a German based medium-sized fruit juice manufacturer targeting attractive niche markets like specialized beverage wholesale as well as the hotel and catering sector. The product range consists of direct and concentrate juice, nectars, fruit juice spritzers and specialty products such as apple wine or apple cider. With its brands Schlör and Jope the company is Germany’s sole full-range provider.
Declining demand for fruit juices and a high level of raw material prices led to an increasing competition between fruit juice manufacturers and forced Schlör-management to file for insolvency on 28 October 2014 at the local court of Constance, Germany. The experienced restructuring expert Henning Schorisch, attorney-at-law (law firm hww hermann wienberg Wilhelm), has been appointed as preliminary insolvency administrator and confirmed as insolvency administrator with opening of the insolvency proceedings on 1 February 2015.
Despite difficult market conditions Henning Schorisch and his team succeeded in stabilizing the company’s business operations within short time and implemented a structured sales process with a broad market approach. As a result, family-owned Widemann-Bodensee-Kelterei, Bermatingen, could be presented as successful bidder.
Widemann Group, located at Lake Constance as well, is specialized in processing home grown fruits for fresh juices, fruit concentrates and flavors. With its subsidiary Lindauer Bodensee Fruchtsäfte GmbH, Widemann already offers fruit juice with brand “Lindauer Fruchtsäfte”. Finally, Widemann convinced with its offer by presenting a sustainable concept with a joint brand strategy. With 85 employees, the group recently achieved sales of approximately EUR 43m.
On 17 April 2015, Widemann Group takes over entire business operations as well as all employees of Schlör Bodensee Fruchtsaft AG and thereby safeguards future of Schlör.
ACXIT Recovery Management has been mandated exclusively as M&A-advisor to the insolvency administrator.
About hww hermann wienberg wilhelm Insolvenzverwalter
hww hermann wienberg wilhelm is one of the largest providers of legal counseling, restructuring, insolvency administration and receivership services with 120 professionals at 24 locations in Germany. With a three-pillar model – comprising legal counseling, restructuring as well as insolvency advisory services – the hww group covers the entire range of services for the professional management of corporate crises and is complemented by a network of international insolvency professionals. hww services are defined by an individual, independent and transparent restructuring and recovery approach. (www.hww.eu)
About ACXIT Recovery
ACXIT Recovery Management as part of ACXIT Capital Partners, is an independent consultancy firm exclusively dedicated to distressed Mergers & Acquisitions. ACXIT Recovery delivers tailored solutions and transactions to small and medium sized companies as well as to insolvency administrators. The partners of ACXIT Recovery were in charge of over 80 successful transactions in restructuring and insolvency situations over the last eight years.
ACXIT Capital Partners is a leading international corporate finance and investment advisory firm for mid-market clients and entrepreneurs in Europe and abroad. Since 1998 we offer our clients comprehensive corporate finance advisory services including M&A, capital markets as well as restructuring and strategic advisory. As an independent, privately owned firm we maintain offices in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Hong Kong as well as strong alliances in China, India and USA. (www.acxit.com)
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Christian Nicolas Bächstädt, Managing Partner
E-mail: Baechstaedt@acxit.com
Transaction Team:
Christian Nicolas Bächstädt, Managing Partner
Dr. Daniel Kiechle, Senior Associate