German provider of display & sensor technology listed on Wall Street

Munich/New York City, 25.9.2020. In recent years IPOs by German companies in the USA have become a rarity. Nonetheless, the German company Via optronics, a provider of integrated display and sensor technology, managed to make it successfully onto the US trading floor this Friday. No major investment bank is responsible for this, but the M&A boutique Kloepfel Corporate Finance.

9.30 am, New Yorker local time, the bell rang at the Wallstreet: The German provider of display and sensor technology, Via optronics, is now listed on the New York stock exchange and can be found with the ticker “VIAO”. Daniel Jürgens, CFO of Via optronics, explains: “An IPO is one of the most demanding processes a company may carry out. Even more if you target the NYSE! Via optronics took the next step in the direction to continue with its international growth path.” More than six million shares are offered through American Depositary Shares (ADS) at an issue price of 15 USD per ADS.

US IPO the “Champions League” for Investment Bankers

Leading role in the IPO was Kloepfel Corporate Finance. The M&A-Boutique has supported Via optronics for more than five years and was also involved in selling the company to the current majority owner, Integrated Micro-Electronics (IMI). Jürgens: “Kloepfel Corporate Finance, as a financial advisor, has supported us excellently during the [IPO] process. Thanks to Dr. Heiko Frank’s and his colleagues’ very strong commitment and deep understanding of all necessary steps and processes, we were able to complete this unique project for a company with great success”.
The M&A-Boutique was responsible for coordination of the process, selection of investment banks and service providers, as well as complex support i. e. development of presentations and financials. Heiko Frank, managing director of Kloepfel Corporate Finance says: “Bringing a company to Wall Street is considered as the Champions League among investment bankers. Consequently, we are proud to have successfully supported our client Via optronics as a ten-person team.”

IPO at the right time and with the right Bookrunner

The share was already significantly oversubscribed before the IPO. This is also due to the timing: “Liquidity in the stock market is high, the DAX and Dow Jones have recovered from the crisis and attractive investment opportunities are currently in high demand,” Frank explains. Further, the Munich M&A-Expert identified the perfect Bookrunner for the IPO: Instead of a large US-investment bank, the company chose Berenberg Bank, a very successful investment bank in the medium-sized segment that specializes in such IPOs and is now one of the leading banks for IPOs in Europe.

Marc Kloepfel: “Success can be achieved if the right expertise is combined”

Kloepfel Corporate Finance is part of the international Kloepfel Group. Marc Kloepfel, managing director of the group, explains: “With this transaction our M&A boutique is playing in the league of the big international investment banks. This reflects what defines us: “Even in small teams, success can be achieved if the right expertise is combined.”