BDO advises the owners of folian gmbh on the sale of their company to the finnish Walki Group Oy
BDO advises the owners of folian gmbh on the sale of their company to the finnish Walki Group Oy
A mutli-disciplinary team from BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft und BDO Legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH advised folian’s owners on the sale of their shares to the fininish Walki Group Oy which is a One Equity Partners portfolio company. As part of Walki’s global Business Area Consumer Packaging, folian will support the continued growth of flexible packaging business.
folian is a specialist for high-quality flexographic printing of packaging materials for a wide range of applications. Founded in 1999 by the owner-managers, the company is a key supplier for large companies in the food industry. With around 94 employees, folian offers its customers a wide range of value-adding services offering covering printing and downstream finishing such as laminating, laser perforation and scribing, and roll slitting. folian has received several awards for its sustainability focus in operating processes and raw materials used (e.g., use of water-based printing inks).
folian will support the continued growth of Walki’s flexible packaging business and will become part of the global Business Area Consumer Packaging. Nothing is expected to change for folian employees in Stralsund. Stefan and Manuela Muschter, founders, shareholders and managing directors, will stay on as managing directors. " We are very pleased to join forces with the Walki team, with whom we share the same vision about more sustainable packaging solutions and who is committed to our company’s long-term growth." said Stefan and Manuela Muschter: "We believe that by combining our market knowledge and strong customer focus, together with Walki's deep materials know-how and R&D capabilities, we can offer our customers even greater value and a successful future for our employees."
Walki Group Oy head quartered in Espoo, Finland, is a growing international group organized in three business areas: Consumer Packaging, Industrial Packaging and Engineered Materials, with operations in twelve different countries, both in Europe and Asia. Its production facilities are located in Finland, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, the UK, Poland, Russia and China. Walki is currently employing more than 600 people and expects turnover to exceed 700 MEUR in 2022. With the acquisition of folian, Walki is taking another step in the implementation of its value chain expansion strategy and strengthens its presence in the prominent Central European market.
An interdisciplinary team from BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft and BDO Legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH under the leadership of BDO M&A managed the saleprocess to its conclusion. As the exclusive transaction advisor, it provided comprehensive support to the shareholders of folian gmbh. BDO's advisory services included, in particular, full-scale M&A advice, legal and tax advice including the drafting of purchase agreements as well as the preparation of financial, legal and tax fact books.
"We would like to express our sincere thanks to the entire transaction team at BDO and in particular to the M&A team," said Stefan and Manuela Muschter. "The BDO M&A team developed a convincing M&A strategy based on its in-depth industry experience and comprehensive transaction expertise. In doing so, it determined the decisive market and company-side success factors and implemented the transaction process swiftly and in the best possible way with a flexible and solution-oriented advisory approach. The international BDO network as well as the interdisciplinary advisory approach with comprehensive legal, financial and tax advice contributed significantly to the overall success of the transaction and reduced the transaction complexity as well as the work volume for us considerably."
BDO's interdisciplinary team was composed of:
- Dietmar Flügel (M&A, Partner Düsseldorf)
- Jane Evans (M&A, Senior Manager Düsseldorf)
- Mario Males (M&A, Manager, Düsseldorf)
- Rolf Schönbrodt (Transaction Documentation Tax, Partner, Frankfurt)
- Heinz-Gerd Hunfeld, (Tax Fact Book, Partner, Hamburg)
- Lilian Kleinert (Tax Fact Book, Senior Manager, Hamburg)
- Lars Erichsen (Tax Fact Book, Manager, Hamburg)
- Steffen Eube (Financial Fact Book, Partner, Frankfurt)
- Paul Jouy (Financial Fact Book, Manager, Frankfurt)
- Moritz Theis (Financial Fact Book, Senior Consultant, Frankfurt)
- Paul Le Buhan (Financial Fact Book, Consultant, Frankfurt)
BDO Legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
- Dr. Marcel Fricke (Federführung, M&A/Commercial/IP/IT, Partner, Hamburg)
- Dr. Konstantin Michelsen (Federführung, M&A/Corporate Law, Partner, Hamburg)
- Dr. Andreas Graef (Public Law, Partner, Düsseldorf)
- Manfred Hack (Employment Law, Senior Manager, Berlin)
- Jessica Fischer (Commercial, Manager, Hamburg)
- Dr. Hilmar Müller (Commercial, Manager, Düsseldorf)
- Corinne Klesius (Employment Law, Manager, Düsseldorf)
- Thomas Formella (M&A/Corporate Law, Senior Consultant, Hamburg)
- Jessica Hofbauer (Commercial/Insurance, Senior Consultant, München)
- Dr. Katrin Liebner (Commercial, Senior Consultant, Hamburg)
- Melanie Rübartsch (Public Law, Senior Consultant, Düsseldorf)
- Gregor Tylewski (M&A/Corporate Law, Consultant, Hamburg)