March 26, 2018 Amsterdam – On 22 March, Gilde Buy Out Partners joined Esdec as a new shareholder. Esdec develops, produces and delivers professional mounting systems for solar panels. The fast growth and the innovative characteristics of Esdec, have fuelled Gilde’s ambition to play an important role in supporting the existing management team in realizing the company’s growth ambitions. With this transaction the shares of investors Holland Venture and Dolfin Capital will be acquired by Gilde.

With its innovative mounting systems, Esdec is playing a key role in addressing the growing demand for solar energy. In 2017 the production of solar energy grew with an impressive 40%. The focus on innovation did not go unnoticed as Esdec won the Solar Innovation Award 2017 and it was nominated as FD Gazellen 2017.

Innovation

Investing in innovation is key for Esdec. “The continuous quest for smarter, better and faster solutions for our customers is our main driver, every single day.”, according to Stijn Vos, CEO and shareholder of Esdec. To maintain the position as market leader, the innovation engine continues to run at full speed. Esdec again introduced a new range of products this month, has strengthened its management team with a director Technology and Innovation, has extended its R&D team from 2 FTE to 10 FTE and has started construction of its 1000m2 innovation centre. Overall, the number of employees has tripled in two years. Vos added to this: “Together with Holland Venture and Dolfin Capital we have strengthened our market position significantly since 2015. I am grateful for their contribution which has brought Esdec to the point where it is ready for the next growth phase with Gilde.”

“Esdec stands out due to its strong product portfolio and fast growth. We are impressed with what the management team has achieved in recent years, together with Dolfin and Holland Venture, as well as by innovations currently being developed. We see numerous possibilities to further accelerate growth in this next phase for the company, together with the management, in both the EU and in the USA, and both organically as well as through acquisitions.”, according to Maurits Boomsma, Partner at Gilde Buy Out Partners.

International sales

In a rapidly growing market which initially was driven by subsidies and now has really opened up due to a decrease in solar energy costs, Esdec focuses on key markets: Benelux, France, the Nordics and USA. In the EU and USA, it has recently hired multiple international sales managers. “Under the leadership of Stijn Vos, Esdec has accomplished a lot. This is apparent in the significant expansion of the (R&D) team, the international expansion that was realized and the move to a new facility, four times the size as the old one. The company is now ready to seize the enormous growth potential in the market. We wish the new shareholder Gilde the best of luck with this next step!” says Hubert Verbeek, Managing Partner Holland Venture. Read more at: http://gilde.com/news/2018/innovation-efforts-pay-off-gilde-buy-out-partners-invests-in-esdec

On March 8th Anders Invest completed her tenth investment by acquiring a 50% stake in Mosman Stainless Steel in Haaksbergen (NL). The shares in this rapidly growing company were bought from the two directors and shareholders Rob Brinkert and Cees van Noort. Rob and Cees will continue to be associated with the company for the long term as directors.  

Mosman is active worldwide in the production and sales of heat exchangers for bulk solids. The heat exchangers are used in a wide range of production processes, in particular for the cooling and drying of plastic, sugar and fertilizers. The company designs and produces the heat exchangers themselves and developed a laser welding machine to weld the cooling plates, so-called pillow-plates. Mosman has a broad, international customer portfolio and counts large multinationals amongst its clientele. Hereby a link to the corporate video and the website of the company. In addition to the heat exchangers, Mosman has been a relevant regional player in the field of stainless steel metal processing since 1879. 

The company has achieved a solid market position over the past five years and sees sufficient opportunities to further expand this position. Due to the increasing attention for energy consumption of production processes and the desired high quality and consistency of the output, heat exchangers are being used in an increasing number of production processes. Anders Invest has a lot of admiration for the performances that are delivered and looks forward to the cooperation.

Graphite Capital supports Beck & Pollitzer’s acquisition of Clarkson Industrial Inc. Graphite Capital’s portfolio company Beck & Pollitzer has acquired Clarkson Industrial Inc, a major provider of installation services based in South Carolina. The combination of Beck & Pollitzer’s existing US operation and Clarkson creates a strong platform for further growth in the group’s machinery installation and relocation services throughout the North American market.

Bridgepoint, an international private equity firm, today announced that it has acquired Safety Technology Holdings (“STH”), the world’s leading supplier in the design and manufacture of safety test equipment, specialty fiber, custom engineered stress & strain solutions and software modelling, from Golden Gate Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

3i Group plc (“3i”) today announces that it will invest in Royal Sanders, a leading European private label and contract manufacturing producer of personal care products with plants in the Netherlands (Vlijmen) and in the UK (Preston). 3i is investing alongside management to drive the company’s international growth strategy. The business is being purchased from Dutch private equity firm, Egeria.
Royal Sanders’ main product categories include shampoo, bath and shower gels, body lotions and hand wash and its key geographies are the Benelux, Germany and UK. The company sells its products through private label, contract manufacturing and own brands including Van Gils, Sanicur and Odorex.
The company has demonstrated a consistent and strong track record of profitable growth over the past 10 years with 13% sales CAGR, significantly outgrowing the market. It differentiates itself through its focus on quality, its longstanding relationships with key customers and its superior operational capabilities at its state-of-the-art facilities.
Pieter de Jong, Partner at 3i Benelux, commented: “Royal Sanders has enjoyed strong organic growth in recent years and is now ready to drive consolidation in a fragmented industry. We see multiple potential buy-and-build opportunities across geographies and are very excited to be working with the management team to support them in this next phase of growth.”

Bart Hullegie, CEO of Royal Sanders, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with 3i. It has extensive experience in buy-and-build in private label, for example through its investment in European soft drinks bottler Refresco, and in growing companies internationally through its network of valuable industry experts in the consumer sector.”

The transaction is subject to customary antitrust approvals.