January 4th, 2015 | Press Releases

Ambienta acquires a significant stake in Oskar Nolte Gmbh

by Ambienta

21 April 2015 Milan – Ambienta SGR (“Ambienta” or the “Firm”), the largest European private equity fund specialised in the environmental sector, today announced that it has acquired a substantial stake in Oskar Nolte GmbH, a successful and profitable leading manufacturer of high-performance wood coating systems for the furniture industry.

Oskar Nolte is a leading manufacturer of high performance wood coating and lacquer systems for industrial applications primarily in the furniture industry. For more than 2 decades, Oskar Nolte has been at the forefront of developing solvent free coating systems which contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment. It is the company‘s philosophy to add value for its high profile customers through a combination of environmentally friendly products and cost efficient processes.

Ambienta has invested more than 20m EUR with the plan to accelerate Oskar Nolte’s growth by applying its coating technologies to adjacent markets such as finish foils and also to emerging markets where the share of solvent-based coatings is still fairly high. Moreover, selected add-on acquisitions are considered too. In order to support the envisaged growth it is furthermore planned to increase the total work force.

CEO and co- shareholder of Oskar Nolte, Guido Pühse, commented: “With Ambienta we have found a partner and co-shareholder who shares our view on the growth prospects of the business and is keen to support the company with financialand managerial resources as well as its strong international industrial expertise”.

Nino Tronchetti Provera, Managing Partner and Co–Founder of Ambienta commented: “I am very pleased that we have now completed our first investment in Germany. In respect of leading environmentally-friendly technologies, Germany is one the most important markets and sources of innovation in Europe and globally”.

The transaction follows the recent appointment of Ambienta’s new Partner, Nico Helling, Responsible for investments in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, who commented: “Oskar Nolte has continued to build on its competencies over decades and today is a perfect example of a hidden champion clearly focussed on superior product quality, strong customer orientation and international reach. We look forward to working closely with Oskar Nolte and supporting its management team in their strategy to continue growth organically and potentiallythrough acquisitions”.