SEDANT Group acquires majority of apt Hiller GmbH

Livingstone’s Beijing and Düsseldorf’ teams have advised the shareholders of apt Hiller GmbH on the sale of 75% of their shares to Beijing-based SEDANT Group.

Apt manufactures and processes aluminum profiles for the construction/architecture, automotive and industrial sectors at four sites in Germany. Its product offerings include the recycling and extrusion of aluminum profiles, mechanical processing, surface finishing and the assembly of pre-finished components. The company employs approx. 800 and had a turnover of €205m in 2014.

The company is one of the largest independent manufacturers of aluminum products in Europe, with an annual production capacity of approx. 80,000 tons of aluminum profiles at its locations in Monheim and Roermond (in The Netherlands), as well as the anodizing facilities at the same locations and in Eckental. Founded by Werner Hiller in 1972, Hiller had handed over the day-to-day management of the business to Managing Director Frans Kurvers, though remained on the Advisory Board of apt and remained majority shareholder. SEDANT is a privately-held group located in Beijing with c. 1,000 employees and a €500m turnover.

IThe group is one of the leading manufacturers of energy-efficient and climate-friendly components for the construction industry in China. The group is also active in real estate development, vehicle distribution as well as financial investments and logistics. Upon terms of the transaction SEDANT has acquired 75% of the atp’s shares from Hiller and Kurvers. Frans Kurvers will remain as Managing Director of the company, as well as a sizable minority shareholder.

“During the entire sale process, the Livingstone’s team took all the necessary steps to protect my personal interests and those of the company”, said Hiller.  Kurvers added: “From the very beginning, this transaction was greatly supported by the Livingstone team. Their presence in both China and Europe has been crucial to the successful completion of the transaction.”

With financial backing from SEDANT, apt will look to access new European and International market opportunities while for SEDANT, their investment in apt gives them access to valuable technology, a well-developed range of environment-friendly building materials products, as well as gain access to the European market.