goetzpartners advised Afinum and the minority shareholders

goetzpartners advised Afinum and the minority shareholders on the sale of Garz & Fricke Group to SECO

goetzpartners was mandated as M&A and Commercial advisor by Afinum and the minority shareholders of Garz & Fricke Holding GmbH (“Garz & Fricke Group” or the “Company”), Germany-based producer and developer of hardware and software solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), to SECO S.p.A. ("SECO"), Italy-based reference player in the field of technological innovation, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence solutions. The total consideration amounts to €180m and comprises a cash consideration of €165m and €15m newly issued SECO shares.

The acquisition of Garz & Fricke Group represents a unique strategic opportunity for SECO to establish a major international/ pan European champion in the IoT/ Edge Computing industry, creating the largest listed European player and the world’s number 3 player in the industry. The combination is highly complementary across multiple dimensions, reinforcing SECO’s presence in the strategic DACH market and adding scale in attractive growth markets such as the United States.

The combination will create a group with over €180m revenue and more than €40m adjusted EBITDA by 2022.

goetzpartners acted as M&A sell-side as well as Commercial Vendor Due Diligence advisor to Afinum and the minority shareholders. Our services included highlighting the excellent strategic fit between the two companies and the resulting value creation potential illustrated in detail through a thorough scenario-based synergy assessment. This outstanding result of our joint Corporate Finance and Management Consulting teams underlines our competence as advisor of choice.

About Garz & Fricke
Founded in 1992, Garz & Fricke Group is a leading supplier of standard and custom edge Human-Machine Interface (HMI) solutions, their building blocks and a tailored ecosystem of IoT, software and payment solutions. The Company was acquired by Afinum in 2017, and has expanded its operations under its ownership completing two strategic acquisitions in the field of edge systems and software applications. Today Garz & Fricke Group operates under three complementary brands: “Garz & Fricke” (HMI solutions), “Keith & Koep” (Systems on Module) and “e-GITS” (Software & Platform). For the full year ending December 2021, Garz & Fricke Group is expected to generate approximately €45m in revenue and an adjusted EBITDA in excess of €10m.

About SECO
SECO (IOT.MI), listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (STAR segment), develops and manufactures cutting edge technological solutions, from miniaturized computers to fully customized integrated systems combining hardware and software. SECO also offers CLEA, a proprietary end-to-end IoT-AI analytics software suite, made available on a SaaS basis, that allows clients to gather insightful data from their onfield devices in real time. SECO employs over 500 people worldwide and operates through 3 production plants, 6 R&D hubs and sales offices in 9 countries. With a turnover of more than €75m as of December 31, 2020, SECO serves more than 200 blue-chip customers which are leaders in their respective fields, including Medical, Industrial Automation, Aerospace & Defense, Fitness, Vending and many other sectors.

Transaction Team

M&A Team:

Dr. Martina Ecker
Managing Director
Email

Markus Rosen
Director

Fabio Riva
Associate

Daniel Quast
Analyst

Simon Fischer
Analyst

CVDD Team:

Dr. Gerrit Schuette
Managing Director
Email

David Oesterschlink
Manager

Andreas Haselbach
Senior Consultant

Dominik Wenzel
Associate Consultant

Gabriel Berenstein
Associate Consultant

Jannis Sandow
Associate Consultant