Munich, November 2020 – Kloepfel Corporate Finance (KCF) acted as exclusive M&A advisor to the shareholders of DITTRICH + Co GmbH & Co KG (DICO) on the sale of substantial shares to the investment company of the Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken – VR Equitypartner GmbH (VREP). After receiving cartel clearance, the transaction was closed on November 02^nd, 2020.

This gives VREP a significant minority stake in a leading specialist for complex and sophisticated plastic injection tools and moulding products. Within the scope of the investment, a succession solution in the medium-sized family business was also made possible through the participation of the long-standing authorized signatory as additional managing director. With the acquisition of a major minority stake by VREP, the management of DICO sees an opportunity for the sustainable continuation of the company and long-term safeguarding of jobs, as well as the chance for further growth by utilizing additional market potential.

Founded in 1958, DITTRICH + Co is a family-run specialist supplier of toolmaking and injection molded parts with over 100 employees in Schwabmünchen near Augsburg. The company has been in the hands of Armin Dittrich and Andreas Muschak since 1995 in second generation. The company has been able to grow steadily over the past few years thanks to its comprehensive coverage of the entire value-added chain of technically sophisticated plastic products, from engineering to system integration for the customer. The clear focus of the shareholders is on sustainability, quality, diversification and customer benefit of the products and services. This mix means that DICO is often integrated into processes by its customers at an early stage.

The DICO shareholders Armin Dittrich and Andreas Muschak see VREP as a strong partner for the further development and growth of the company, who at the same time has substantial experience in regard of succession arrangements. The new co-managing director, Manfred März, is looking forward to further scale-up DICO’s market leading knowledge of complex shapes and special materials and to participate in the steps which will lead the company into a new chapter in its long history.

“We would like to thank Kloepfel Corporate Finance for their professional support in our succession process. Due to the Kloepfel team’s high level of market knowledge, but what is almost even more important for us as a medium-sized company, an excellent knowledge of human nature, therefore we always felt that we were in good hands. At the beginning of our assignment of Kloepfel Corporate Finance, nobody suspected that Corona would change everything. Nevertheless, Dr. Frank and Mr. Üstündağ guided us through the whole transaction process with great clarity. Throughout the whole time, the two gentlemen not only smoothed out the waves of concern and tension in a constructive manner, but also organized the necessary data collection and its preparation in a wonderful way from a business, tax and legal point of view.

In this way we were able -despite COVID- to adhere to our tight and ambitious schedule and to achieve a result that was highly gratifying for all sides. The reactions of our employees, our customers and our suppliers are consistently positive, so that we can now look to a bright future.

A. Dittrich Managing Director of DITTRICH + Co GmbH & Co KG

Kloepfel Corporate Finance acted exclusively as M&A advisor to the shareholders of DITTRICH + Co GmbH & Co KG and was able to structure, negotiate and successfully conclude the transaction through an efficient M&A process.