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Osnabrück/Rheine — The Osna­brück-based family equity company zwei.7 acqui­res a stake in the Ossen­berg Group. The Rheine-based company is the market leader for walking aids and fore­arm supports in Germany and, for its part, had taken over the second largest supplier in this market segment — Erwin Kowsky GmbH in Neumüns­ter — in the middle of last year.

The Ossen­berg Group is the leading German manu­fac­tu­rer of aids for the walking impai­red. The tradi­tio­nal company deve­lops, produ­ces and sells fore­arm walking aids, light metal canes and ortho­pe­dic aids. The medium-sized company, with around 100 employees, has been selling its products through specia­list dealers for around six deca­des — in recent years also very successfully worldwide.

Both compa­nies have agreed to further inten­sify the strong growth course of the past years in the future. Former share­hol­der Cars­ten Diek­mann will remain with the company as mana­ging part­ner. Frank Wieditz will leave the company in Febru­ary 2020. Both parties have agreed not to disc­lose finan­cial infor­ma­tion about the transaction.

For the Osna­brück-based two.7 family equity firm, this is the first successful acqui­si­tion in the Health­Care sector, since its foun­da­tion in spring 2018. Kars­ten Wulf (photo), co-owner of the buw Group for more than 30 years, had laun­ched the two.7 Group in Osna­brück after the successful sale of the call center (6,000 employees, sold to Conver­gys in 2016). The company’s goal is to actively invest in high-growth medium-sized compa­nies and, in doing so, to contri­bute Kars­ten Wulf’s deca­des of expe­ri­ence as a medium-sized entrepreneur.

“The Ossen­berg Group has pursued a convin­cing growth stra­tegy in recent years and, as a medium-sized company from Rheine, has built up a quality brand world­wide with its products in the mobi­lity indus­try. Toge­ther we want to conti­nue and expand this course,” says Kars­ten Wulf.

“We are glad to have found an entre­pre­neu­rial part­ner in the zwei.7 Group. The expe­ri­ence of Kars­ten Wulf and his part­ner Olaf Bock as successful entre­pre­neurs from Lower Saxony will help us to master the next growth steps. From entre­pre­neur to entre­pre­neur, we discuss at eye level and speak the same language, says Cars­ten Diek­mann, who has mana­ged the Ossen­berg Group in Rheine since 2007.

The tran­sac­tion was accom­pa­nied by tax advi­sor / lawyer Dr. Klaus Stein from Osna­brück.

About two.7
The tzwei.7 group was foun­ded in 2018 by Kars­ten Wulf in Osna­brück. The family equity house invests in high-growth medium-sized compa­nies and takes entre­pre­neu­rial risks with equity capi­tal. The aim is to estab­lish and expand a Euro­pean health care clus­ter of small and medium-sized successful compa­nies. The invest­ment in the Ossen­berg Group is the first successfully comple­ted tran­sac­tion in the Health Care portfolio.

About Ossen­berg
The Ossen­berg Group is the leading German manu­fac­tu­rer of ortho­pe­dic aids for the walking impai­red. Foun­ded in 2007 in Rheine in eastern West­pha­lia, the tradi­tio­nal company now sells its products world­wide. Last summer, Ossen­berg took over its compe­ti­tor Erwin Kowsky from Neumüns­ter. The Ossen­berg Group employs around 100 people and repor­ted sales of €16.7 million in 2019.

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