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ARX Equity Partners exits VUES investment

Following an approval by regulatory authorities, ARX Equity Partners (ARX) has exited its investment in Czech producer of specialised electrical motors VUES Brno (VUES) via a EUR53 million sale to Moog Inc.

ARX’s investment in VUES generated an overall 11.8-times cash-on-cash return multiple and an IRR of over 30 per cent.
 
ARX acquired a majority shareholding in VUES from retiring managers in 2006, with the intention to leverage the company’s inherent technical strengths and capabilities in order to grow and further internationalise the business. Over the past eight years VUES expanded its profit margins considerably, while simultaneously doubling sales and increasing headcount by over 30 per cent.
 
”The VUES investment is an excellent example of ARX strategy of partnering with great local management teams. The success of VUES confirms the know-how of local engineers and competitiveness of Czech R&D, which were prerequisites for the company’s expansion into increasingly demanding applications,” says Jaroslav Horak, ARX Investment Committee Chairman.
 
“During the period of ARX ownership, VUES expanded its production capacities and established a sales office in Germany, which diversified the company’s initial customer concentration. VUES has a strong pipeline of new orders and development projects and plans substantial investments over the next few years,” says Tomas Lansky, a Partner with ARX.
 
The VUES investment is consistent with the ARX focus on Central European growth investments. VUES is a producer of custom designed specialised electrical motors. As a former research institute, VUES capitalises on its 70-year history developing electrical motors, its strong R&D department and technical know-how. VUES motors are utilised in robotics and automation, automotive testing, transport, energy and aviation applications, where precision parameters and reliability are required. In 2017 VUES generated revenues of EUR30 million, with more than 80 per cent of production exported to a diverse group of global markets.
 
The ARX exit was executed via a sale to NYSE listed Moog, which is a worldwide designer, manufacturer and integrator of precision control components and systems. Moog’s high- performance systems control military and commercial aircraft, satellites and space vehicles, launch vehicles, missiles, automated industrial machinery, wind turbines, marine and medical equipment. Moog generates annual revenues of USD2.6 billion.
 

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