goetzpartners advised HQ Equita GmbH

HQ Equita has agreed to sell MEN Gruppe ("MEN"), a leading provider of mission critical computers and electronic components for demanding operational environments, to DBAG Fund VII, which is advised by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, for a merger with its portfolio company duagon Holding AG ("duagon").

MEN develops and produces fail-safe and durable computers and electronic assemblies for challenging environmental conditions. The components are used for data processing inside trains, aircrafts, in industrial plants or medical equipment. duagon is a leading, independent provider of network components for data communication in rail vehicles.

Both MEN and duagon already hold leading competitive positions in their respective markets. While MEN’s computers ensure the flawless and reliable control of brakes, doors and other subsystems of rail vehicles and rail networks, duagon components enable for instance the communication of these systems with the central train network.

Hans Moock, Managing Director of HQ Equita, highlighted the business logic of the merger: “Due to duagon’s highly complementary technology and the two well-matched management teams, we believe the merger will create a leading technology provider for secure computing and communications solutions in the rail sector. Such a combined group is ideally positioned to benefit from the positive developments expected in the future in the field of railway electronics and other mission-critical markets, including medical technology, avionics, power & energy and special industrial applications.”

Under duagon’s and MEN’s joint expertise, new products and comprehensive solutions will be developed. The focus will be on automatic safety systems and technological trends, such as autonomous driving, which is also relevant for the rail industry.

Bernd Härtlein, current CEO of MEN and future CEO of the Computing business unit, added: “The merger of duagon and MEN is a major first step in creating a market leader in rail and market computing, wherever there is a need for highly reliable and secure solutions. In particular, I see great potential in duagon’s hardware-related software competence and its strong position with Asian customers.”

Fortlane Partners Consulting acted as exclusive commercial advisor to HQ Equita, further underlining our competence in the embedded systems industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to the approval of antitrust authorities.

ABOUT MEN
MEN is one of Europe’s leading developers and producers of fail-safe computers and electronic assemblies. The electronics are used globally for safety and mission-critical functions in control and measurement technology, where reliability must be guaranteed even under challenging environmental conditions, such as high temperature fluctuations, dust, vibrations or humidity. Historically coming from the field of industrial automation, today’s main applications include mobile applications in the railway, public transport and aviation sectors. MEN also supplies medical technology, power generation as well as oil and gas production.

ABOUT HQ EQUITA
HQ Equita is HQ Capital’s direct private equity investment company. Continuing with the tradition of the Harald Quandt family, HQ Equita acquires entrepreneurial stakes in medium-sized companies in the DACH region. It is one of the most experienced providers in the German-speaking market. Since its foundation in 1992, HQ Equita has raised capital commitments totaling more than one billion euros and has invested in more than 30 companies. The firm’s investors includes institutional investors, family offices, foundations and well-known entrepreneurial families – including the Harald Quandt family.

Transaction team:

Dr. Gerrit Schütte
Partner
 

Steffen Prochazka
Consultant

Janine Schäfer
Associate Consultant