Munich — PRIMEPULSE SE has sold its majority stake in the listed company KATEK SE. The buyer was Kontron Acquisitions GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kontron AG, which is also listed on the stock exchange. A HEUKING team led by Munich partner Boris Dürr advised PRIMEPULSE SE on this transaction.
Specifically, this involved the sale of around 60% of all KATEK shares. The purchase price for the share package is around EUR 130 million. Antitrust approval is still pending and the transaction is expected to be completed by March 2024. Kontron will gain control of KATEK SE as a result of the transaction and will make a mandatory offer to the outside shareholders following the transaction.
The KATEK Group is one of the leading electronics service providers in Europe. The range of services covers the entire life cycle of electronic assemblies and devices. KATEK places particular emphasis on the development of renewable energy technologies such as control electronics for photovoltaic systems and intelligent charging solutions for electric vehicles. With more than 3,500 employees at locations in Europe, Asia and North America, the KATEK Group is expected to generate sales of over EUR 750 million in the 2023 financial year.
PRIMEPULSE SE is an investment holding company based in Munich. PRIMEPULSE is backed by the successful founders, entrepreneurs and long-standing managers of TecDAX-listed CANCOM SE. PRIMEPULSE’s investment activities focus on the IT & technology sector and related growth markets. PRIMEPULSE’s portfolio companies include the listed company Stemmer Imaging AG and the cloud managed service provider glueckkanja AG.
The Austrian company Kontron AG specializes in autonomous communication between devices (Internet of Things, IoT). With the acquisition of KATEK, Kontron is expanding its product portfolio in the fast-growing areas of photovoltaics and eMobility Smart Charging. The takeover of KATEK SE is the largest acquisition in Kontron’s history. In connection with the takeover, Kontron increased its forecast for 2024 to a consolidated turnover of at least EUR 1.9 billion and a net profit of around EUR 100 million.
The Heuking team regularly advises PRIMEPULSE on transactions and other projects, including in 2018 when PRIMPULSE took over the then KATEK GmbH from the Kathrein Group. HEUKING subsequently advised on several add-on transactions and also supported the IPO of KATEK SE in 2021.
Consultant PRIMEPULSE SE: HEUKING
Boris Dürr (lead, M&A), Christian Schild, LL.M. (corporate law/M&A), Peter M. Schäffler (tax law), Andreas Schruff, Felix Noack (both corporate law/M&A), all Munich.