apt Group has been acquired by China-based Mengtai Group
An integrated Sino-German advisor team of Livingstone has exclusively advised on the sale of 100% of the shares of the apt Group, Monheim/Rhein, to Inner Mongolia Mengtai Group Co., Ltd. Ordos, China. In a structured and competitive international sales process organized by Livingstone, China-based Mengtai Group was able to establish itself as the final successful acquirer. Details of the transaction will not be disclosed.
A leader in the European aluminum industry, apt Group, manufactures and refines high-quality aluminum profiles at four locations, employing 1,000 people with a turnover of approximately EUR 250 million (USD 280 million). The Company supplies well-known customers across a spectrum of industries, including construction, architecture, transportation, automotive and industrial appliances in several countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
The added value ranges from co-engineering, aluminum extrusion, mechanical processing to surface refinement, and assembly of ready-to-install parts. With an extrusion capacity of around 80,000 tons of aluminum profiles at the Monheim and Roermond (NL) sites, its own anodizing and powder coating facilities in Monheim, Roermond (NL) and Eckental with an annual capacity of 6 million sqm and a capacity for mechanical processing of around 15,000 tons, apt Group is one of the largest manufacturers in Europe. The enterprise employs nearly 1,000 people and realizes a turnover of about EUR 250 million.
Founded in 2001 by AO Fengting, the family-owned Mengtai Group is one of the ten largest privately-owned companies in Inner Mongolia. Headquartered in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, with over 5,000 employees and a turnover of approximately EUR 2.0 billion (USD 2.2 billion) in 2019, Mengtai is active in the fields of coal, electricity and district heating as well as the production of primary aluminum with an annual production capacity of up to 500,000 tons per year.
In recent years, the Ao family has driven the development of the company into a diversified conglomerate with a downstream focus on the Chinese market. Following the transaction, the current management team will continue to manage the day-to-day business activities of apt Group. The Ao family expresses its confidence in the local European management team and, as a financially strong shareholder, will support the further growth and globalization of apt Group.
AO Fengting, founder and president of the Mengtai Group, says: “The acquisition of apt Group allows us to further strengthen the aluminum processing expertise of our growing group of companies. We plan to fortify the apt Group in Europe and provide close support to both the existing management team and the workforce on its further growth course. We also intend to bring apt’s outstanding know-how to China to offer our customers and apt’s customers first-class extruded, coated, and processed profiles. To this end, we are planning to build up downstream capacities in extrusion and processing technology in China, for which we can act as a supplier of primary materials.”
Thomas Boddenberg, CEO of apt Group, adds: “The management team of apt Group is pleased that with Mengtai Group and the Ao Family a new shareholder has been found, who will support the long-term national and international development of apt Group in the core segments of aluminum extrusion and further processing into ready-to-install components, and who also wants to open new doors for us, particularly in the Chinese market. At the same time, we remain one of the largest independent manufacturers in Europe and intend to play an active role in future market consolidation.”
“Mengtai Group quickly distinguished itself in the negotiations by its high reliability and speed and was always interested in finding a cooperative solution. I am convinced that in Mengtai and the Ao Family, excellent owners have been found for apt Group,” adds Guido Pühse, Managing Partner of GP Holding GmbH and majority shareholder of apt Group. “Livingstone’s deal team comprising of Christian Grandin, Johannes Faber, and Baoshan Bao has been able to realize a successful sell-side process for us again. Their contacts into the Chinese Market, an unparalleled understanding of the company, and know-how of the market, as well as the right feeling to archive suitable solutions in complex negotiation situations, made an attractive deal for all parties involved possible. Despite the currently everchanging and stressed market environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the integrated Sino-German deal team was able to deliver a fully competitive M&A process until the best suitable acquirer was found. I wish the Ao family and the entire team at apt group a successful future.”
Christian Grandin, Partner at Livingstone Germany, says: “After advising the shareholder of apt Group originally in 2014 on their first step of its succession plan, it was a pleasure to support the Company and its management team again in a complex international M&A process. We would like to thank all team members for their trust in our capabilities and for the exiting and successful cooperation in a challenging market environment.”
This is Livingstone’s third successful transaction within the European aluminum extrusion industry since 2015 and the sixth successfully advised transaction within the metals sector in the last 24 months.
