CCS Customer Care & Solutions acquired Gohlke Elektronik

MP Corporate Finance acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Swiss´CCS Customer & Care Solutions Holding AG in the acquisition of Gohlke Elektornik GmbH, an EMS provider, as part ot the buy & build strategy.

Following the two previously arranged transactions for CCS Group and in course of the aspired Buy & Build Strategy, MP advised its client on the acquisition of Gohlke including financial, strategic and integration-related aspects. This acquisition will complement CCS group, bringing together two companies that are an extremely good fit. It will secure the group’s market leadership in Switzerland and take it to the number five position in the German-speaking world in the E2MS sector, with revenues of approximately CHF 180 million. CCS has a strongly Asian-oriented production platform and already strengthened its position in the German speaking EMS market when it integrated Adaxys and its Swiss production locations in June 2011. It has locations in Switzerland, Sri Lanka, China and Hong Kong, generates annual revenues in excess of CHF 150 million and employs some 1,750 people.

Gohlke Elektronik GmbH, located in Hildesheim, Germany, focuses on technically challenging specific solutions, serving mainly small to medium-sized and industrial customers close to its North-East German base. Gohlke’s generates revenues of around EUR 23 million (CHF 28 million). The company was founded in 1990. In the interests of smooth succession planning and following a transitional phase, management of the company will be transferred entirely to the third managing director. The strategic combination of CCS and Gohlke will quickly enable synergies to be unlocked. Gohlke’s German production platform will give the CCS Group, which focuses on Switzerland and Asia, a foothold in the eurozone, while CCS’s Asian presence will grant Gohlke the access it needs to this procurement market. Opportunities will also be opened up in development and distribution. Complementary customer portfolios and locations, and technical expertise and know-how will significantly strengthen the positioning of CCS Group.

Zurmont Madison’s majority shareholding in CCS gives the group access to solid financing solutions that will enable it to continue to implement its defined buy-and-build strategy. This gives it a competitive edge in the attractive but hard-fought E2MS market and even greater flexibility in how it serves its small and medium-sized customers in the industrial, automotive, instrumentation and control technology, transport, communication, building services engineering and medical sectors. The joining of Gohlke takes the group into the eurozone and is an ideal way to extend the production and expertise platform. The broader production, knowledge and procurement base will strengthen the geographical presence in serving customers. Both sides stand to reap synergies from this combination.