Alantra advises Vivonio Furniture Group on its refinancing

Mar 2022

Debt Advisory

Frankfurt – Alantra, a global leader in investment banking and asset management, is pleased to announce that its Debt Advisory team was engaged by Vivonio Furniture Group (“Vivonio”) as the exclusive financial advisor for the refinancing of an existing senior credit facility and a shareholder loan with an international consortium of five banks and two credit funds. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the refinancing, which has now been successfully completed.

Vivonio was created by the merger of Maja Möbel and Möbelwerk Staud with the support of Equistone Partners Europe (Equistone), an equity investor that since then, has been Vivonio’s majority shareholder. The group unites seven leading European furniture manufacturers and today is one of the market leaders in the fragmented European market for furniture production. Vivonio covers the entire value chain and produces high-quality side furniture, wardrobes and office furniture at eight locations in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Denmark. In addition to several large corporate customers and specialized retailers, its customers include all major furniture stores in Germany, including IKEA, for which Vivonio manufactures the Malm and Alex drawer unit series and the Kallax shelving system. Vivonio employs more than 1,800 people and has expanded significantly in recent years both through organic growth and acquisitions.

Maximilian Rohardt, Managing Director for Debt Advisory at Alantra’s Frankfurt office, said: “We would like to thank the shareholders and management of Vivonio for the confidence they have placed in us. The company has experienced highly dynamic growth, has proven to be very stable in the face of the pandemic and is benefiting from a structural growth trend. We have structured the company’s financing on a sustainable financial basis within the overall economic environment so that it can fully exploit its potential as a result of the improved financing conditions.”

Niels Ackermann, Managing Director and CFO of Vivonio, said: “Thanks to the successful refinancing, Vivonio is in an excellent position to profit from the outstanding growth opportunities in the coming years. The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new phase of growth in the European furniture market. People are increasingly working from home and spending significantly more time in the comfort of their own homes. This development will continue even after the pandemic has subsided and will lead to a continued demand for beautiful and functional furnishings.”

The market research company Euromonitor expects growth rates to pick up significantly in the European furniture market. Between 2021 and 2025, analysts forecast average annual growth of 3.1 percent to EUR 136.3 billion in 2025. The reasons for the forecast growth are the revival of the cocooning trend seen during the pandemic and the growing importance of one’s own home as a workplace. Experts also anticipate additional impetus from the increasing mobility of the workforce. More frequent changes of workplace give rise to an increased demand on the furniture market.