Restructuring and company sale
in the role of interim CEO
Main focus: Restructuring in insolvency proceedings, M&A process and post-merger integration
Company:
- Industrial fittings, € 28 million turnover, 170 employees in Germany and France
- Shut-off and control valves for the chemical and petrochemical industries, conventional power plants and nuclear power plants. Global customer base
Responsibility:
- CEO and Managing Director
- Insolvency proceedings – restructuring plan
- M&A process and company sale
- Post-merger integration
Initial situation:
The small group of companies was sold as a carve-out from a listed American group to a small German private equity fund. There have obviously been operating losses recently. Financial reports for the last five years were missing. Even 9 months after the takeover, the new shareholder had still not received any transparency about the actual situation of the company.
Measures:
- Detection and elimination of pre-invoicing practices
- Creating transparency regarding order backlog, sales and production plan
- Elimination of deficiencies in liquidity planning
- The imminent threat of insolvency became apparent. The new shareholder was not in a position to inject the necessary capital in the short term or provide collateral. Due to the company’s history, there was no alternative to filing for insolvency immediately.
- Continuation of business during 5 months of insolvency proceedings: continuous production and delivery to customers as well as sales activities with incoming orders still at approx. 50% of the “normal level”
- Development and implementation of a restructuring plan.
- Negotiation and implementation of collective restructuring agreement and reconciliation of interests with trade union and works council.
- M&A process and sale of the company to a medium-sized Italian family business in the same sector.
- Supporting the new investor as a consultant and managing director on site during the transfer of operations and the first critical phase of post-merger integration.
Result:
- Increase in delivery reliability and profitability despite insolvency process
- Customers and suppliers remain loyal to the company
- Implementation of the restructuring plan and successful sale of the company
- Long-term preservation of approx. 2/3 of the jobs
