Livingstone advises Ambienta on the sale of coatings specialist Oskar Nolte to Peter Möhrle Holding

Livingstone’s Industrial sector team has advised Ambienta SGR, the largest European private equity fund focused on sustainability, together with former shareholder Guido Pühse, on their sale of German Oskar Nolte Group to Hamburg-based Peter Möhrle Holding, a family-owned industrial holding company.

The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial terms of the transaction. Oskar Nolte is the leading manufacturer of high-performance wood coating systems for specialty applications in the furniture industry and its suppliers. It has been at the forefront of developing solvent-free coating systems, distributing eco-efficient solutions to its customers globally from its production base in Kirchlengern, Germany. The product and service offering combines advanced performance products and a strong consulting expertise with ecologically sound products and manufacturing processes. Ambienta is a leading European private equity fund operating out of Milan, Düsseldorf, and London focused on industrial growth investing in companies driven by environmental trends and with funds under management of over EUR 500m.

As part of its focus on how sustainability is reshaping the chemical industry, Ambienta identified Oskar Nolte as a niche market leader with significant growth potential in 2014. With Ambienta’s support, the Company has expanded its international presence, established a new subsidiary in Turkey and increased its global reach. Oskar Nolte has also leveraged its core competencies and successfully launched additional products in new market segments. This has diversified its customer base further and led to additional attractive growth opportunities. As a result, Oskar Nolte has further added to its workforce and continued its soundtrack of growth.

Dr. Arne Deussen, CEO of Oskar Nolte, commented: “Transitioning a company to the next level can be a challenge. Ambienta has been instrumental in supporting our transformation and growth strategy and Guido Pühse did a great job in handing over his tasks to our team. With Peter Möhrle Holding as a long-term shareholder, we are looking forward to continuing on our growth trajectory as a reliable and innovative supplier to our industrial customers. We see stability and a long-term approach as a key strength in a challenging environment.”

Peter Möhrle Holding (PMH) is a family-owned industrial holding company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. PMH is focused on long-term investments into industrial companies as well as real estate and acts as a reliable and experienced partner, which gives strong companies the space to grow and develop and achieve success together. Since 2010, Peter Möhrle Holding has directly invested in six different companies.

“It has been a great pleasure and honor working with Oskar Nolte and its senior team, as well as alongside our co-shareholder Guido Pühse. We are proud of Oskar Nolte’s success as the first of many more Ambienta investments in Germany and the first to exit. Over the last few years, the Company continued to expand its market position and successfully launched new product applications. We are confident that Oskar Nolte will continue to grow and wish its Managing Directors and employees all the best for a prosperous future,” commented Nico Helling, Partner at Ambienta.

“Furthermore we would like to thank the Livingstone Deal Team for their outstanding dedication and support throughout the entire time of our shareholding. Their deep knowledge of the Company, its business model, and the market, as well as their professional process management and involvement, were key to the successful closing of when we acquired Oskar Nolte and obviously also for our exit.” Guido Pühse added: “As CEO and shareholder of Oskar Nolte GmbH for more than 25 years, I have been guiding the Company along its journey of development and growth. It has been a great experience running the business with Ambienta over the last three years and a pleasure to coach the new Management team to take over my role at the helm of the business. Together we have enjoyed the success achieved through strong sales performance and the broadening of the product portfolio. I wish the new shareholders and the Management team all the best in the next stage of Oskar Nolte’s journey. Certainly, I look forward to continuing to support and contribute to the company’s development in my new role on the Supervisory Board.”

Following the sale of a significant stake to Ambienta and realizing the exit of a former co-shareholder of Mr. Pühse back in 2015 this already was the second time that Livingstone’s Düsseldorf team has successfully advised the shareholders of Oskar Nolte on a transaction.

Christian Grandin, Managing Partner at Livingstone commented: “It has been a privilege to work with Ambienta, Mr. Pühse, and the management team again following on our multiple encounters in the past and thus to finalize the long-term succession plan of Mr. Pühse with this step. We wish the new shareholders and the management team all the best for the further development of the company.”