Sherpa Capital, a private equity fund manager with EUR400 million in assets under management, has sold Cegasa Portable Energy to Mexican trade buyer Compañía Minera Autlán (Autlán) for EUR26.35 million.Founded in 1934 and headquartered in the Basque Country (northern Spain), Cegasa Portable Energy is the second largest producer of Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) in Europe, with annual sales of EUR17.7 million in 2019.
The scope of the transaction has been limited to the Cegasa Portable Energy business unit, which was carved out from the Cegasa Group for its divestment. In this way, the Cegasa Energía business unit was excluded from the transaction that Sherpa Capital announced today. Cegasa Energía’s activity focuses on two areas: on the one hand, the manufacturing of Zinc industrial batteries and, on the other hand, the design, manufacturing and commercialisation of products and solutions for energy storage based on electrochemical batteries of Lithium-Ion technologies.
The sale includes the 50 per cent stake that the company holds in Energía Portátil Cogeneración, a joint-venture with Iberdrola Cogeneración that operates an electric energy generation unit.
EMD is a key input in the manufacturing of alkaline batteries. In line with Autlán’s strategic plan, this transaction further strengths the growth of its Manganese Division in the batteries industry and diversifies its revenue base with non-steel applications.
Sherpa Capital has been advised by PwC and DLA Piper. EY and Gómez-Acebo y Pombo advised Autlán.
