Minimax Acquires Consolidated Fire Protection

Minimax, a leading worldwide supplier for industrial fire protection solutions, has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Consolidated Fire Protection (CFP) from Gryphon Investors.

Klaus Hofmann, CEO of the Minimax Group, is delighted to have CFP as the newest member of the Group's family. "This is our breakthrough in the US market where we had a below-average market share in the past. We were particularly attracted to the interesting mix of revenue between new installation, modernisation and service", Hofmann says. Both companies, Minimax and CFP, showed double-digit growth rates over the last few years.

"There are many opportunities for us to increase market shares. Organic growth and reasonable acquisitions remain on our agenda, moreover we can leverage the know-how Minimax has in certain industrial segments", says Rob Salek, CEO of CFP.

Detlef Dinsel, Partner at Industri Kapital, the majority shareholder of the Minimax Group, confirms that the CFP deal strengthens the international orientation of the whole company: "The entry into the US is an important and natural step in Minimax's internationalisation process. This was exactly our idea when we purchased Minimax in mid-2006. Minimax has a strong track record of organic growth but add-on-acquisitions are necessary to become a true global player".

Industri Kapital and co-investors own about 80% of the shares of the Minimax Group, the rest is held by the Minimax management.

Consolidated Fire Protection (CFP)

CFP is one of the leading service providers in the North American fire and life safety industry. Founded in 1959 in Los Angeles, the company today has 23 locations across 15 western and south-western states. The company offers a comprehensive range of services for fire suppression systems and alarm and detection services. For the business year 2007, CFP expects a turnover of about US $200 million. The company employs 1,200 staff.

Minimax Group

Founded in 1902 and currently based in Bad Oldesloe in North Germany, Minimax is an international full-service provider in the fire protection sector and is present in markets throughout the world. The company's own research centre is amongst the most modern and environmentally friendly in Europe. In 2007, Minimax will generate a turnover of around EUR 530 million. The group employs more than 3,300 staff excluding the CFP acquisition.

Industri Kapital

Industri Kapital is a European private equity firm, having raised a total of EUR 5.7 billion, including EUR 1.7 billion in the latest fund IK2007. Since 1989, Industri Kapital has been engaged in 64 European companies. The current portfolio encompasses 19 companies with a total turnover close to EUR 6.5 billion. Industri Kapital invests mainly in mid-sized companies with strong cash flow and profit improvement potential, operating in mature industries with fundamental underlying growth. Previous IK investments in Germany include Sport Group, Gardena, Dywidag Systems International GmbH (DSI), Poggenpohl (via Nobia) and Pfaff Haushaltsnahmaschinen (via VSM Group).

Source: Minimax