Alantra advises the svt group on the financing of the acquisition of the Technical Fire Safety Group

Oct 2022

Debt advisory

Frankfurt – Alantra, the global investment banking firm and asset management specialist, has advised the German-based svt Group (“svt”), the leading provider of passive fire protection solutions in Europe, on the acquisition of Technical Fire Safety Group (“TFSG” or “The Company”), a UK-based manufacturer of fire safety glass, from its majority shareholder Soho Square. svt is a portfolio company of the Ergon svt Long Term Value Fund SCSp advised by Ergon Capital.

For Alantra, this represents yet another successful mandate, after having supported Ergon Capital with its acquisition of svt in 2018, as well as several add-on-acquisitions as Ergon Capital’s and svt’s M&A and debt advisor.

svt is headquartered in Seevetal, Germany and is the leading provider of products and services in passive fire protection and restoration management in Europe. The company has 50 years of experience and covers the entire value chain from R&D over production to project management solutions for industrial applications, construction, renewables and the transportation sector.

TFSG is the leading second stage manufacturer of fire safety glass in the UK, developing, producing, processing and distributing state-of-the-art fire safety glass via its brands Pyroguard and Fire Glass UK. The Company offers a highly complementary product expansion to svt, enabling the combined group to offer a broad range of products, from fire protection sealings systems and fire safety glass, as well as complementary services to its customers.

The combined group has more than 1,500 employees and generates a turnover of more than €300m. The combination of svt and TFSG strengthens svts footprint in Europe, expanding its particularly strong market presence in Germany and France to its new key geography, the UK.

The transaction was predominantly debt financed via the Group’s increase of debt capital. Alantra structured a debt package which was provided by a large consortium of banks as well as a debt fund.

Frank Steiner, CFO of svt Group, commenting on the transaction stated: “The financing package structured by Alantra enables us to significantly expand our business in both product ranges, as well as key geographies and target markets. Further, it provides financing security in a challenging market environment. Once again, Alantra’s broad network and market knowledge have proven its worth. We would like to thank the Alantra team for their excellent advisory services.”

Maximilian Rohardt, Partner for Debt Advisory in Alantra’s Frankurt office, added: In the current market environment financing partners are very cautious with the provision of debt. Both banks and debt funds currently only invest in solid business models with a clear path for further success. Based on our longstanding and trustful relationship with Ergon and svt management as well as the resulting specific market know how we convinced both existing as well as new lenders that svt fulfills these criteria. The improved financing provides the company with sufficient flexibility to continue its growth path. The transaction was managed by Alantra’s Frankfurt office: Maximilian Rohardt and Philipp Holst.

The parties agreed to keep information of the transaction confidential.