KPS Capital Partners Europe
KPS invests on a global basis. Since 2020, KPS has acquired or signed agreements to acquire companies with an aggregate enterprise value exceeding $12 billion from sellers based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.1,2
Substantially all KPS platform investments in Europe have involved creating new companies to buy non-core businesses from large, global corporations. The majority of KPS portfolio company add-on acquisitions in Europe have involved purchasing family-owned businesses. Many of the businesses acquired by KPS in Europe operate global manufacturing platforms.
KPS launched its European presence by creating KPS Capital Germany GmbH in 2010 and established its European headquarters in Frankfurt. KPS opened KPS Netherlands Management B.V. in 2018 to further expand its European presence.
KPS believes it has a formidable reputation in Germany where the Firm has acquired non-core businesses from Germany’s leading global industrial companies, including, Robert Bosch GmbH, thyssenkrupp AG, adidas AG and Siemens AG. KPS believes it is viewed by large German companies as a peer manufacturer or strategic buyer rather than a private equity firm or financial buyer. Each of these sellers selected KPS as the right owner of the divested business because of KPS’ successful long-term track record of owning global manufacturing businesses, its demonstrated track record of executing highly complex corporate carve-outs on a global scale, and its reputation as a constructive investor. For example, KPS’ recent €3.5 billion pending acquisition of Innomotics from Siemens AG, announced on May 16, 2024, is the largest industrial acquisition by a private equity firm in Germany since 2021.3
KPS’ long-term constructive relationships with unions across Europe, including with the Industrial Union of Metalworkers (“IG Metall”) and the Industrial Union for Mining, Chemical and Energy (German: Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie) (“IG BCE”) in Germany, is a clear differentiator and competitive advantage that provides sellers in Europe with transaction expediency and certainty of closure.
KPS has completed 20 acquisitions from some of Europe’s leading companies, including:1,2
KPS has established a European Advisory Board of highly regarded senior executives including:
Germany: Bernd Bohr, PhD
- Dr. Bohr began working with KPS in 2014 and is currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ottobock Healthcare SE and Member of the Supervisory Board of Brose SE. From 2003 to 2013 Dr. Bohr was Chairman of Bosch Automotive Group. He also previously served as Board Member of Nippon ABS, Japan; as Non-Executive Director of Motor Industries, India; as Member of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG and chaired the Supervisory Board of Deutz AG. From 2015 to 2022 he was Chairman of the Board of Governors of Aachen University.
Germany: Thomas Wuensche, PhD
- Dr. Wuensche began working with KPS in 2015 and served as Chief Executive Officer of KPS portfolio company Chassis Brakes International Group (“CBI”), one of the world’s three largest manufacturers of automotive foundation brakes and foundation brake components. Prior to his tenure at CBI, Dr. Wuensche served as Chief Executive Officer of Benteler Automotive, a leading global automotive supplier of chassis & modules, structures, engine & exhaust systems and electro-mobility solutions. Prior to his tenure at Benteler Automotive, Dr. Wuensche served as Chief Executive Officer of Eberspächer Exhaust Technology. Dr. Wuensche also served as Chief Executive Officer of Edscha North America, a global market and innovation leader in hinge systems and convertible top systems.
Germany: Dr. h.c. Frank-Jürgen Weise
- Dr. Weise began working with KPS in 2017 and spent a third of his professional career as an active officer in the German armed forces, and later as a reserve officer with NATO in Brussels with the rank of Colonel. He previously served as a managing director, board member and, most recently, an entrepreneur in the automotive supplier sector. Dr. Weise was previously appointed by the federal government as Chairman of the Board of the Federal Employment Agency for a total of 16 years. The Federal Employment Agency has over 100,000 employees and a budget of 80 billion euros. Additionally, Dr. Weise served as honorary president of the Johanniter Unfallhilfe and Chairman of the Board of the non-profit Hertie Foundation. Today he holds several advisory and supervisory board mandates.
France: Guy Maugis
- Mr. Maugis began working with KPS in 2015 and is currently President of the French-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and President of AFNOR, the French normalization body. From 2004-2015 he served as President of Robert Bosch France.
Italy: John Magliana
- Mr. Magliana began working with KPS in 2015. He previously served as Director and Chairman of the Board of various corporate and civic entities in the U.S. and Europe, including Sab Wabco Brakes, MESH Consortium Space, DOC Generici, the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce, and the Italia America Foundation. After many years in management including as Chief Executive Officer for Saab Scania N.A., Mr. Magliana returned to Italy upon the invitation of the Prime Minister, where he led the restructuring of Natwest Bank Italy and of Italfondiario on behalf of the Bank of Italy and served as Country Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland. He also acted as an Advisor to numerous corporations, financial, and government institutions, including Dow Brands, MSC/Rekeep, Schlumberger, the Bank of Boston, Citibank, and the Governments of Germany, Italy, and Sweden.
1 Enterprise value data is from acquisitions or pending acquisitions since 2020. Countries listed include select European sellers for Flagship and Mid-Cap Fund I portfolio companies and add-on acquisitions since 2009 (KPS’ first European acquisition)
2 On October 1, 2024, KPS acquired Innomotics GmbH from Siemens AG for an enterprise value of €3.5 billion
3 As per BAML
4 Reflects three add-on acquisitions from platform investment DexKo Global
Third party logos above do not indicate affiliation with or endorsement by such companies. The select transactions presented herein are provided to illustrate KPS' transaction experience in Europe only, may not be representative of all transactions of a type or types of investments generally and should not be relied on in any manner as legal, tax, regulatory or investment advice and should not be considered a specific recommendation of any particular security or portfolio company. Actual results may differ, and may already differ, materially from any forward-looking statements herein. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results and there can be no assurance that KPS will be able to achieve its investment objectives