Frank­furt am Main / Bayreuth — With the support of its share­hol­ders VR Equi­typ­art­ner and INDUC, Grun­dig Busi­ness Systems GmbH (GBS) acqui­res 100 percent of the shares in Elek­tron Systeme from Weißen­ohe. With this acqui­si­tion, GBS streng­thens its posi­tio­ning in the field of elec­tro­nic assem­bly and systems (EMS) manufacturing.

Foun­ded in 2009, Elek­tron Systeme is a certi­fied EMS service provi­der based in Weißen­ohe, Germany. The group consists of Elek­tron Systeme und Kompo­nen­ten GmbH & Co KG and its sister company ib Prozess­leit­tech­nik GmbH & Co KG. As a one-stop store rooted in the region and a full-service part­ner for leading OEMs in medi­cal tech­no­logy and indus­try, Elek­tron Systeme manu­fac­tures complete elec­tro­nic assem­blies and device units. The company covers the entire elec­tro­nics value chain and accom­pa­nies its custo­mers from feasi­bi­lity studies to device cons­truc­tion, from new deve­lo­p­ments to logi­stics services. Recent invest­ments in new SMD produc­tion capa­city and a fully auto­ma­ted warehouse provide modern produc­tion conditions.

Grun­dig Busi­ness Systems GmbH (GBS) is a medium-sized produc­tion and service company based in Bayreuth. VR Equi­typ­art­ner, toge­ther with its subsi­diary VR Equity Gesell­schaft für regio­nale Entwick­lung in Bayern mbH, had acqui­red a mino­rity stake in GBS from INDUC in 2016. As both GBS and Elek­tron Systeme are active in the produc­tion of elec­tro­nic assem­blies and systems, the acqui­si­tion is inten­ded to streng­then the GBS EMS busi­ness unit — among other things through the mutual trans­fer of expe­ri­ence and exper­tise and the expan­sion of the produc­tion spectrum.

The seller is the foun­der and previous sole share­hol­der Frank Streit, who will act in an advi­sory capa­city after the tran­sac­tion. Opera­tio­nal manage­ment remains in the hands of the exis­ting manage­ment team: Michael Walter (Commer­cial Divi­sion) and Harald Weiß (Tech­ni­cal Division).

Frank Streit, who, like Harald Weiß, origi­nally comes from GBS, sees the tran­sac­tion as a win-win situa­tion: “The sale to GBS is an important stra­te­gic step for Elek­tron Systeme, because there are many opera­tio­nal synergy approa­ches due to the spatial as well as cultu­ral proxi­mity of the two houses.”

GBS Mana­ging Direc­tor Roland Holl­stein also sees it this way: “With Elek­tron Systeme, we have the chance to inte­grate addi­tio­nal manu­fac­tu­ring and produc­tion exper­tise for our EMS area into the company. For exam­ple, we are thin­king of imple­men­ting a best-prac­­tice system for the two sites in Bayreuth and Weißenohe.”

Chris­tian Futter­lieb, Mana­ging Direc­tor at VR Equi­typ­art­ner, is also plea­sed about the new part­ner­ship: “The inte­gra­tion of the two compa­nies repres­ents a great oppor­tu­nity for further growth. Among other things, both compa­nies can now bene­fit from Elek­tron Systeme’s long-term custo­mer rela­ti­onships with seve­ral German blue-chip manu­fac­tu­r­ers in the medi­cal tech­no­logy and indus­trial sectors. We believe this puts GBS in an excel­lent posi­tion for the future.”

Dr. Frank Töff­lin­ger, mana­ging part­ner of INDUC and initia­tor of the GBS busi­ness unit “EMS”, also sees in the acqui­si­tion a consis­tent conti­nua­tion of the EMS growth course, espe­ci­ally as the sales of the busi­ness unit will almost double with the acquisition.

VR Equi­typ­art­ner at a glance

VR Equi­typ­art­ner is one of the leading equity finan­ciers in Germany, Austria and Switz­er­land. The company supports medium-sized family busi­nesses in a goal-orien­­ted manner and with deca­des of expe­ri­ence in the stra­te­gic solu­tion of complex finan­cing issues. Invest­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties include growth and expan­sion finan­cing, corpo­rate succes­sion or share­hol­der chan­ges. VR Equi­typ­art­ner offers majo­rity and mino­rity invest­ments as well as mezza­nine finan­cing. As a subsi­diary of DZ BANK, the central insti­tu­tion of the coope­ra­tive banks in Germany, VR Equi­typ­art­ner consis­t­ently puts the sustaina­bi­lity of corpo­rate deve­lo­p­ment ahead of short-term exit thin­king. VR Equitypartner’s port­fo­lio curr­ently compri­ses around 60 commit­ments with an invest­ment volume of EUR 400 million.