assona GmbH secures mezzanine funding

The Business Services sector team at Livingstone Düsseldorf has helped SchneiderGolling-Group optimize the capital structure of its subsidiary assona GmbH by raising fresh capital. Investor BE Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG is supporting the future development of annex insurance underwriting agent assona with a tranche of mezzanine funding.

Livingstone had previously supported Düsseldorf headquartered SchneiderGolling-Group, one of the leading added-value insurance brokers in Germany, in Spring 2013 when the group originally acquired assona from private equity investor Heliad Equity Partners GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Berlin-based assona is an established provider of specialty insurances and offers warranty extensions and protection plans mainly for mobile and stationary electronic products. The company currently employs approx. 70 employees and, with over 700,000 customer contracts, assona is a leading provider in Germany and Austria.

Cologne-based BE Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG is an independent growth capital investor actively investing into established mid-market companies, predominantly growth capital into so called “hidden champions” within the German Mittelstand.

“As a result of the new investment, assona has the essential freedom to pursue its growth plan in the mid-term.” said Ralf Schneider, Managing Director of SchneiderGolling-Group. “Due to Livingstone’s support it was possible to successfully secure additional external funding very soon after the acquisition of the business a couple of months earlier. The team supported us in a practical, flexible and efficient manner throughout the whole process.”

“We are delighted that SchneiderGolling-Group and assona GmbH have welcomed BE Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG on board as a mezzanine provider. We are looking forward to support their further growth path in the mid-term future.” said Rolf Brodbeck and Roland Eschmann, managing directors of BE.

Dr. Ralf Nowak, Partner at Livingstone Düsseldorf, added: “It was a pleasure to work again with SchneiderGolling-Group and provide assona GmbH with a sound footing to accelerate its growth. We had already a deep knowledge of the business and knew team members on all three sides of the transaction, which was key to a successful closing within the very limited time frame.”