Frank­furt am Main / Mark­grö­nin­gen — Kälte Eckert GmbH, a refri­ge­ra­tion equip­ment manu­fac­tu­rer based in Mark­grö­nin­gen, Germany, has acqui­red Gart­ner, Keil & Co Klima- und Kälte­tech­nik GmbH. The seller of the shares is the hitherto sole share­hol­der and mana­ging direc­tor Frank Keil, who will conti­nue to manage the company opera­tio­nally. The aims of the part­ner­ship are to expand the service network and the quali­fied employee base and to bundle know-how. For the port­fo­lio company of VR Equi­typ­art­ner (photo: Chris­tian Futter­lieb, Mana­ging Direc­tor), this is the second add-on acqui­si­tion within a few months: Only in Novem­ber 2019, the merger with Günther Kälte­tech­nik laid the foun­da­tion for a successful plat­form strategy.

Dr. Rainer Hersch­lein, Part­ner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, advi­sed Kälte Eckert GmbH on the acqui­si­tion of Gart­ner, Keil & Co Klima- und Kälte­tech­nik GmbH.

Gart­ner, Keil & Co. Klima- und Kälte­tech­nik GmbH specia­li­zes in consul­ting and sales of indi­vi­dua­li­zed systems in the fields of refri­ge­ra­tion and air condi­tio­ning tech­no­logy, cold storage tech­no­logy, cold and deep-freeze rooms as well as special plant engi­nee­ring. Foun­ded in 1990, the company is based in Neuluß­heim, Baden-Würt­tem­berg, and employs 16 people.

Kälte Eckert GmbH has focu­sed on special plant engi­nee­ring for commer­cial refri­ge­ra­tion with an empha­sis on indus­trial kitchens, indus­trial refri­ge­ra­tion and air condi­tio­ning. In addi­tion, the company is the nati­on­wide tech­no­logy leader in the field of alter­na­tive ecolo­gi­cal coolants. Custo­mers include Daim­ler, UniCre­dit and LBBW. The company was foun­ded in 1966 and is now mana­ged by Michael Eckert and Holger Eckert, the sons of the company founder.

VR Equi­typ­art­ner GmbH is one of the leading equity finan­ciers in Germany, Austria and Switz­er­land. The company supports medium-sized family busi­nesses in finding stra­te­gic solu­ti­ons to complex finan­cing issues. VR Equi­typ­art­ner offers majo­rity and mino­rity invest­ments as well as mezza­nine finan­cing. VR Equitypartner’s port­fo­lio includes around 100 commit­ments with an invest­ment volume of EUR 500 million.

Herschlein’s team most recently advi­sed Kälte Eckert on its merger with Günther Kälte­tech­nik GmbH in Novem­ber 2019.

Advi­sors to VR Equi­typ­art­ner GmbH: Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
Dr. Rainer Hersch­lein, LL.M. (Lead, Corpo­rate), Stuttgart
Char­lotte Schmitt, LL.M. (Corpo­rate, M&A), Stuttgart

About VR Equitypartner
VR Equi­typ­art­ner GmbH is one of the leading equity finan­ciers in Germany, Austria and Switz­er­land. The company supports medium-sized family busi­nesses in finding stra­te­gic solu­ti­ons to complex finan­cing issues. VR Equi­typ­art­ner offers majo­rity and mino­rity invest­ments as well as mezza­nine finan­cing. VR Equitypartner’s port­fo­lio includes around 100 commit­ments with an invest­ment volume of EUR 500 million.