Avedon Capital Partners, an experienced growth capital investor, has acquired a majority stake in saw manufacturer Wilhelm Altendorf GmbH & Co KG, located in Minden, Germany.
Altendorf's existing MDs, Joerg F Mayer and Wolfgang Ruhnau have acquired a minority stake in the company.
The Altendorf family, recently active in the third and fourth generation as shareholders and in the company's advisory board, has retired from its corporate engagement.
Altendorf is best known for its sliding table saw, developed by Wilhelm Altendorf in 1906.
Together with the existing management team, Avedon intends to further diversify the company and to continue developing new customer segments – in particular, the areas of R&D, sales and services will be strengthened and sustainably expanded. Additional double-digit-million investments aim to further expand the product portfolio with special focus on digitalisation.
Joerg F Mayer says: "Together with the founder family around Wilfried and Tom Altendorf, we fortified Altendorf Group’s positioning as global leader in the development and manufacturing of saws for craft processing of wood, metal and plastics and generated sustainable, profitable growth. From this position of strength we now have the opportunity to build a globally leading company within its sector.”
Hannes Hinteregger, partner at Avedon, comments: "Altendorf is not only a strong and healthy company, but a real Mittelstands champion with strong growth potential, organically and externally. With its highly-engaged and loyal people, its excellent management team and with its worldwide-renowned products, the Altendorf group is setting the pace in the handicraft sector globally. We are proud to support management and company to realise the future growth plans."
Tom Altendorf, previous MD and fourth-generation family member, adds: "The Altendorf family considers it their entrepreneurial responsibility to see the family success story being continued for the benefit of coming generations of employees and customers. On the strengths of its excellent management team joining forces with an experienced growth investor the company holds a strong and lasting foundation to further accelerate its dynamic growth path. Altendorf is now placed in a position to successfully grow and develop pursuant to the legacy of its founding family. We truly wish the new shareholder and all employees a prosperous future and we remain in ties of close friendship with the company carrying our name as well as with all employees of Altendorf."
