Silverfleet sells truck parts business to Cinven

Silverfleet Capital, the European private equity firm that was formerly PPM Ventures, has agreed the sale of Jost World, a global manufacturer of components for commercial vehicles, to Cinven.

According to one source close to the deal the total consideration is about €525 million.

This will generate a 3.1x money multiple and an IRR of 47 per cent on Silverfleet’s original equity investment when they bought the business almost three years ago in August 2005.

Bruno Shick, a principal at Cinven’s Frankfurt office, told PEO:  “It is getting to a size range that is interesting for us, where the business needs the scope and firepower to exploit a strong, secular long-term trend.”

Jost Group is headquartered in Neu Isenburg near Frankfurt. It was founded in 1952 and now employs 2,000 personnel worldwide. Jost has production facilities in Western Europe, including the UK, CEE, Asia, Brazil, Africa and the United States. 

Shick said Cinven would back the management to invest further in the company’s internationalisation especially into growth economies such as India, Poland, Brasil and Russia.

“We also believe there are some interesting add-on acqusitions. The financing banks ING, SocGen and BNP have agreed to underwrite the expansion.”

The deal is Cinven’s second in 24 hours. It bought Partnership Assurance from Phoenix Equity Partners for £200 million today. Shick said: “We are working hard and we are seeing opportunities. Financing is available for good credits of a certain size.”