Growth financing: VR Equitypartner portfolio company acquires SOS Kältetechnik
With a team led by Partner Dr. Rainer Herschlein, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised VR Equitypartner‘s portfolio company Kälte Eckert GmbH on the acquisition of SOS Kältetechnik GmbH based in Königsdorf near Munich. The stake was sold by Alexander Stiegler Iurato, the sole shareholder who will continue to operate as SOS Kältetechnik’s general manager. The partnership is set up to integrate qualified employees, to transfer know-how for natural refrigerants, and to expand the market territory into the Munich metropolitan region.
Established in 1998, SOS Kältetechnik GmbH specializes in the installation of refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump technology. It aims to optimally adapt the performance of installed cooling aggregates to the conditions of customer premises. The company also performs maintenance and service work. Its client base includes commercial, industrial, and private customers.
Kälte Eckert GmbH specializes in the construction of special systems for commercial refrigeration focusing on commercial kitchens, industrial refrigeration, and air conditioning. The company is also the nationwide technology leader in alternative ecological refrigerants. Its customers include large corporations such as Daimler, UniCredit, and LBBW. The company was founded in 1966 by Horst Eckert and is now managed by his sons Michael Eckert and Holger Eckert.
VR Equitypartner GmbH is an equity financier that supports medium-sized family businesses in finding strategic solutions to complex financing issues. Its reasons for investment include growth and expansion financing, company successions, or changes in ownership. VR Equitypartner’s portfolio currently comprises some 60 commitments with an investment volume of EUR 400 million.
This is the third add-on for VR Equitypartner’s portfolio company within a year: In November 2019, Kälte Eckert took over Günther Kältetechnik, in April 2020 it acquired Gartner Keil GmbH. The team led by Herschlein had advised on both transactions.
Counsel to VR Equitypartner GmbH
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Dr. Rainer Herschlein, LL.M. (Lead, Corporate),
Charlotte Schmitt, LL.M. (Corporate, M&A), both Stuttgart
