Albany International Corp., US, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Heimbach Group, Germany in an all-cash transaction of EUR 153 million, approximately. The acquisition will provide Albany International stronger market hold in Central European and Asian markets.
Jun 14, 2023
Albany International Corp., US, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Heimbach Group, Germany, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately EUR 153 million, including the assumption of EUR 21 million net debt. The transaction has been approved by the Albany Board of Directors and Heimbach’s shareholders and is expected to close in the second half of 2023.
Heimbach Group is headquartered in Düren, Germany, and is a global supplier of paper machine clothing for the production of all grades of paper and cardboard on all machine types as well as high-tech textile products used in a variety of sectors, such as the food processing, chemicals, construction materials, and automotive industries. The company’s nine production facilities are spread across Germany, China, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Italy. The acquisition will prove strategically and financially beneficial for Albany International on various fronts; enhancement of Albany’s scale and geographic footprint in central European markets and additional production capacity in Asia; integration of complementary technologies supporting Albany’s differentiation and ability to provide customers with optimized, application-specific solutions; leveraging Albany’s industry-leading operating expertise to drive margin expansion; attractive financial returns with an increase in Albany’s earnings per share and cash flow beginning in year two.
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Mr. Bill Higgins, President and CEO of Albany, commented, “The acquisition of Heimbach is an exciting opportunity to create significant value for our shareholders as well as for our customers as the partner of choice. With Heimbach, we gain increased scale and complementary technology, while broadening our geographic footprint to efficiently serve markets in Europe and Asia. This transaction also provides an opportunity to leverage Albany’s expertise to drive meaningful margin expansion in Heimbach’s operations and cash flows that can be reinvested in high-growth areas of the Company. We look forward to working with the Heimbach team and welcoming them to Albany.”
Mr. Marco Esper, CEO of Heimbach Group, said, “In Albany International, we found a like-minded partner who shares our commitment to best-in-class customer service and advancing modern paper production. Together, we will leverage our collective product and technology portfolios to become an even better provider to our customers. I am incredibly proud of everything that Heimbach and our team have accomplished and look forward to working closely with Albany’s leadership to reach even greater success.”
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Mr. Daniel Halftermeyer, President of Albany’s Machine Clothing business, said, “Heimbach is a solid addition to our company. Their operations are an excellent complement to Albany’s existing network of forward-deployed manufacturing assets. Together, we look forward to providing our customers with even more value in terms of logistics, delivery capability, advice, and service quality.”
