HgCapital announces investment in Qundis Group

HgCapital Trust plc will participate in the acquisition of a majority stake in Qundis Group (“Qundis”) alongside other institutional clients of HgCapital. The Trust, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all HgCapital’s investments. The Trust will contribute a total of approximately £11.8 million.

Based on the 31 March 2012 NAV, adjusting for the impact of the dividend payable in May 2012 and this transaction, liquid resources (including a £40 million undrawn loan facility) are estimated to be £72.4 million (20.6% of the 31 March 2012 NAV). The transaction will reduce the Trust’s outstanding commitments to HgCapital funds to £179.8 million.

HGCAPITAL ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN QUNDIS GROUP

HgCapital, the European sector-focused private equity investor, has today announced the acquisition of Qundis Group (“Qundis”), Germany’s foremost provider of submetering devices and systems for consumption-dependent billing of heat and water. HgCapital will acquire HGT from financial investor Capcellence and Qundis management team, pending approval by the antitrust authorities. The Qundis management team will reinvest a substantial portion of their stake as part of the transaction.

Qundis was created in 2008 by the merger of QVEDIS (previously part of Siemens) and KUNDO SystemTechnik. Headquartered in Mühlhausen, HGT has approximately 220 employees and currently provides submetering systems to a highly fragmented customer base of approximately five million flats and offices across Europe.

The acquisition of Qundis represents a continuation of HgCapital’s sector-driven investment strategy, which seeks to partner with market-leading industry champions. Qundis has grown strongly in recent years, despite the challenging economic backdrop, as the demand for energy-saving solutions remained strong.

Alongside its market leading position in Germany, Qundis has extensive distribution in Italy with further coverage in Slovenia, the Czech Republic, France, Turkey and Russia, and HgCapital plans to support Qundis’ management team in expanding across these geographies.

Richard Binnig, Managing Director of Qundis said: “This is an exciting time for HGT; with its entrepreneurial approach and strong financial background, HgCapital provides a solid foundation for Qundis to continue to develop our specialist technological capabilities to the benefit of new and especially our existing customers. We will continue to be a strong partner to our submetering service provider customers. We look forward to working closely with HgCapital to drive forward the continued expansion of the business both domestically and internationally.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Justin von Simson, Head of HgCapital’s Industrials team and its Munich office, stated: “The combination of a strong management team that has successfully developed the Qundis business model internationally, alongside its outstanding technological expertise and excellent customer relationships makes Qundis a very attractive company to partner with. In applying our specialist knowledge of the industrials sector, we are keen to back innovative companies within high growth markets and feel there is considerable potential for Qundis to continue to grow its business across Europe.”

HgCapital was advised in this transaction by Macquarie Capital Germany, Clifford Chance, The Boston Consulting Group and Deloitte.