Palfinger Expands through Double Acquisition

The PALFINGER Group finalized the contracts for two acquisitions. The majority takeovers of Palfinger systems GmbH and the Megarme Group will expand PALFINGER’s portfolio for the shipping and offshore industries as the Group will henceforth provide access and working systems meeting the special demands of these sectors.

Moreover, through Megarme, PALFINGER will acquire its first value creation structures in the Arab region, which is a core market for these industries.

Both companies being acquired offer special systems for accessing and performing repair and maintenance work on ships and oil rigs, including interior and exterior cleaning, rust and paint removal, recoating, inspection and repairs.

With a staff of approx. 50, Palfinger systems GmbH develops and produces innovative technologies in engineering and processing as well as tailor-made customer and project solutions. The advantage of these solutions is that they make work processes faster, more efficient, safer and more environmentally friendly than conventional methods. Very recently, in mid-November, a Singapore company placed a major contract for a volume of approx. EUR 10 million with Palfinger systems GmbH.

“The solutions have now reached a degree of maturity that makes them an extremely interesting addition to our portfolio. As innovation leader, we will thus consolidate our presence in the marine sector,” explains Herbert Ortner, CEO of PALFINGER AG. “At the same time, Palfinger systems now needs capacities and structures for production and services in order to be able to exploit the additional potential. We have all this available the world over.”

Palfinger systems, which is headquartered in Salzburg, Austria, and operates a manufacturing and assembly plant in Weng im Gesäuse (Austrian province of Styria), has so far been owned by the Palfinger family. Now the PALFINGER Group is acquiring 85 percent of the company, which generated revenue of approx. EUR 1 million in 2012, for a symbolic purchase price of EUR 1. The company’s disproportional dividend arrangement will remain in force until 2025.

The Megarme Group, composed of three companies in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, specializes in the service business and provides rope access technologies applied by rope access professionals. With approx. 500 employees, the company currently generates annual revenue of EUR 15 million. After the closing, PALFINGER will take over full operational and entrepreneurial control over the highly profitable business of Megarme.

Rope access professionals are specially trained technicians primarily assigned to particularly difficult tasks. In combination with the products of Palfinger systems, PALFINGER will provide not only innovative special access products but also the required highly qualified service personnel, making the newly available solutions an interesting alternative to the comparatively expensive and time-consuming scaffolding.

The takeover of Megarme also marks another step in the internationalization of the PALFINGER Group, which until now has had no value-creation structures in the Arab countries. Given the strong presence of the shipping industry in this region, it is a particularly important one for the marine business. The Group will also benefit from Megarme’s longstanding knowledge of this market.,

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Press Release, November 28, 2013