Heuking advises Rhein Invest on the sale of CVS Engineering

February, 2023 - Germany

A team led by Dr. Bodo Dehne, Partner at the Düsseldorf office, advised Dutch private equity investor Rhein Invest on the sale of its portfolio company CVS Engineering to the listed Swedish industry group Atlas Copco.

CVS Engineering is a European market leader in the field of mobile vacuum pumps and compressors, which has in recent years firmly established itself as the dominant player in the German market. The vacuum pumps and compressors are specially designed for installation on vehicles (trucks, trains, suction vehicles, bulk trucks and liquid tankers). All the important main components are produced by CVS Engineering itself at its headquarters in Rheinfelden (Baden).

Under Rhein Invest’s ownership and the management of shareholding director Frank Pfister, CVS Engineering has entered new regions and product segments, created a scalable organisation, increased the production capacity, redesigned the corporate governance structure, improved financial control and as a result grew revenues by ca. 25% and EBITDA by ca. 50% over the course of three years. In 2021, CVS Engineering had a turnover of approx. EUR 25 million and employed nearly 80 people.

Rhein Invest is a fast-growing Dutch private equity investor that invests in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the German-Dutch market, providing them with professional growth capital and expertise. The focus is on primary acquisitions of owner-driven or family-owned businesses as well as on succession situations. Rhein Invest has two funds under management, the most recent of which, Rhein Invest Mittelstand Fund II, will have its final closing during 2023 with a target size of EUR 125 million.

Atlas Copco is a global industrial company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, employing around 43,000 people and serving customers in more than 180 countries. Atlas Copco has been present in Germany since 1952. Around 33 production and sales companies currently operate under the umbrella of the Essen-based holding company. The group employed over 4,600 people in Germany at the end of 2021. The products and services include equipment for the compression of air and gases, generators, construction equipment, industrial tools, assembly systems and vacuum technology, as well as the corresponding services and rental.

Atlas Copco Holding GmbH acquires CVS Holding GmbH and its wholly owned subsidiary CVS Engineering GmbH. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction was completed at the beginning of February 2023.

Rhein Invest had acquired CVS Engineering GmbH in 2019 from Taiwan's Fu Sheng Industrial Co, Ltd as well as various active and former employees. Fu Sheng Industrial Co., Ltd is one of the largest manufacturers of air compressors in the Asian region.

Dr. Bodo Dehne is one of Heuking’s up-and-coming young corporate partners and was appointed Equity Partner on 1 January 2023.

For more information, please visit https://www.rheininvest.com.

Advisor Rhein Investments B.V.
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Dr. Bodo Dehne (Lead, Corporate/M&A),
Sarah Radon, LL.M. (Corporate/M&A),
Fabian Schmitz (Real Estate),
Julian Rosenfeld,
Marc Dümenil (both IP, Media & Technology), all Düsseldorf,
Peter M. Schäffler (Tax Law), Munich

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