08 / 05 / 2014
European Growth with New Owner
One of the leading European manufacturers of daylight solutions, ventilation technology and smoke and heat exhaust ventilation systems has a new owner: the JET Group, which has its headquarters in Hüllhorst (East Westphalia/Germany), now belongs to the Dutch private equity firm “EGERIA” (Amsterdam/Netherlands). On 25 April 2014, the latter acquired the majority share from the previous owner, the investment firm “H2 Equity Partners” (Amsterdam/Netherlands). The transaction includes all national and international locations of the JET Group. The successful group of companies will go on operating under the same management as before. Egeria plans to continue with its support of the European growth strategy of the JET Group in future. “We are happy about the new opportunities which Egeria offers us on a pan-European scale. For our customers and suppliers, we will continue to be a stable and reliable partner,” explains Geert Kessels, managing director of JET.
In 2011, the merger of the company groups JET (Germany, Poland) and Plastic Rooflight (Netherlands, UK) gave rise to a European market leader operating under the name of JET Group and headquartered in Hüllhorst, Germany. The JET Group specializes in the development, manufacture, sale and distribution of dome lights and continuous rooflights as well as technology for daily ventilation equipment and smoke and heat exhaust ventilation systems. The products are mainly used on flat roofs of commercial, industrial and municipal buildings. Synergy effects and further development in other European countries have allowed the JET Group to constantly improve its market position over the last years. This development has not escaped the notice of potential investors – and now it is beginning to bear fruit: as of 25 April 2014, the investment company Egeria acquired the majority share in the JET Group from the previous owner, H2 Equity Partners.
Specializing in medium-sized companies
The takeover of the JET Group by Egeria is no surprise for those who know the sector: the Dutch investment firm has been around since 1997 and specializes in medium-sized companies promising attractive growth potential and sustainable value creation. The individual companies – in conjunction with their existing management in each case – are to be developed further in the long term. The capital invested by Egeria on a pan-European scale increased to a total of around € 1.7 billion in 2013. “Egeria’s experience and financial power gives us new options in the European market. This is an encouraging development,” stresses Geert Kessels, managing director of the JET Group.
JET customers will not notice the new owner much in day-to-day business: “The change of shareholders does not entail any changes in strategy and organization,” Kessels explains. As a result, nothing will change for customers, suppliers and employees. In the medium term, they are to profit from the new situation. “Within the next months, we will sharpen the existing strategy and work out the details more precisely with regard to 2015.” The focus is on the customer-oriented development of new products and the optimization of existing ones – especially in terms of the market-relevant topics of occupational safety and energy efficiency. Egeria can look forward to working with a successful partner: as Kessels explains, the JET Group achieved a satisfactory result in the first quarter of 2014 too.
Publish date: 08 May 2014