Private Assets [LSNA:BER], a German investment company, aims to close four to six acquisitions by the end of this year, CEO Sven Duebbers told Mergermarket.

The company is in talks with candidates in the German-speaking countries and in France, Duebbers said without giving further details. The Hamburg-headquartered company opened an office in Paris in September last year, its first foreign branch and the initial step to building a European business, he said.

Private Assets, which reported EUR 73m in revenues and EUR 6.5m EBITDA for 1H23, followed the Paris office opening by acquiring Climate Ceiling Solutions business, which offers temperature-control technology and includes a unit in Germany and a unit in France, as announced on 16 May.

Attractive targets for Private Assets are manufacturers in segments such as mechanical engineering and metal casting, generating revenues from EUR 20m to EUR 250m, Duebbers said. It aims to acquire 100% or at least 75% of a target, he added.

It looks at businesses in need of restructuring, at carve-outs from large players and at companies with succession issues, he said, and per the company’s website.

There are several options on the market at the moment, he said, adding that Private Assets looks directly for targets and has contacts among M&A advisors. While it appointed an M&A advisor in the past to look for a metal foundry business in Europe, there are no plans to grant an mandate at this point, he said.

Most of the companies on Private Assets’ radar are businesses in need of restructuring, he said. Talks with targets with succession issues usually take a long time to close, and the sellers’ price expectations are often high as they include an emotional component, he said.

The business will finance deals with its own capital and cash flow, Duebbers said without disclosing the budget for acquisitions. While M&A loans are an option, they are usually too complex for small deals, he added. Private Assets is also considering a capital increase, although no decision has been taken to date, he said.

Private Assets aims to support acquisitions that require restructuring operationally for 18 to 24 months and bring them to profitability, he said. Once the goal is reached, the company will be available to be sold, he added.

Among its current portfolio companies, Procast Guss, a German metal foundry with EUR 90m in revenues, has completed the restructuring phase reaching profitability in 2023, Duebbers said. Investors have already expressed interest in the business, but the market is not favourable at this point, therefore a sale of Procast Guss in the short-term seems unlikely, he said.

Since being founded in 2021, Private Assets has not sold any businesses, he said.

For large deals, Private Assets competes with players such as Mutares [ETR:MUX] and AURELIUS [OTCMKTS:AULRF], while for smaller deals companies in the same space include Quantum Capital, DUBAG and Fidelium, Duebbers said.

Besides Procast Guss and Climate Ceiling Solutions, Private Assets’ portfolio includes Bever Elektronik, a German electronics manufacturing service company, automation-solutions manufacturer OKU Automation, special-purpose machinery manufacturer SIM Automation, lighting technology company InstaLighting, mechanical processing business ProMachining, producer of valves for large engines Pro-Valve, and Chris Farell Cosmetics, all based in Germany.

Climate Ceiling Solutions generated revenue of around EUR 23m in 2023 and employed a total of 75 people, but has been loss-making in recent years, according to the press release.