Private equity firm Riverside is selling Berlin-based Teufel Speakers to HgCapital, the European sector-focused private equity investor.
The acquisition is yet to be completed and is subject to regulatory approval.
The value of the transaction is undisclosed.
Teufel, a designer and online retailer of loudspeaker systems in Germany, designs, markets and sells its own brand audio speaker systems (home theatre, multimedia, integrated systems) directly through its B2C internet platform, www.teufelaudio.com.
With the support of Riverside, the company expanded its portfolio and started to sell into other European countries, including the UK, last year.
Riverside acquired Teufel in 2006, implemented a succession plan with the new chief executive Thorsten Reuber and has worked with the management team to more than double the company’s revenue and earnings in this period. The number of employees has also risen from 26 to 72.
Teufel’s management will maintain a significant stake in the business.
This is HgCapital’s second transaction in the German market in as many months, following the acquisition of Munich based SimonsVoss Technologies in May.
Volker Schmidt, partner of Riverside in Munich, says: “Teufel is a success story for all parties involved. The management of the company has developed a very dynamic business and the offer to Teufel’s customers is now more comprehensive than ever before. The Teufel case is a great example on how private equity can add value to small/ mid-cap companies.”
Justin von Simson of HgCapital adds: “Teufel has used its technological expertise and online infrastructure to give it a unique competitive edge. Teufel’s business model, which is based on a high quality, attractively priced product offering with strong distribution and an outsourced production, will provide an excellent platform to drive future growth of Teufel. We look forward to working alongside management to realise the company’s full potential and to bringing our experience from other portfolio companies with a similar business model to the business.”
