ARX Equity Partners (ARX) has completed the majority acquisition of a leading Czech-based facades business, Fenestra Wieden (Fenestra), and simultaneous add-on purchase of Skanska’s Czech facades operation – now collectively rebranded as Fenestra.
Going forward, ARX will partner with Fenestra’s senior management, who will retain a significant minority stake as part of the deal terms. The acquisition was completed on 1 April, 2019 with the deal value undisclosed.
Fenestra is a producer and designer of aluminium-glass modular facade solutions serving customers throughout Europe. The newly combined Fenestra business (https://fenestra- wieden.cz/) employs more than 200 people, operating from two production sites in the Czech Republic with annual revenue forecast at approximately EUR40 million.
Fenestra was founded in 1991 by Pavel Wieden, who established the business to utilise his track record and expertise in glass and aluminium construction. Fenestra is currently one of the leading Czech-based glazed-facade producers, providing complex solutions with a particular focus on design and performance for large-scale demanding projects, typically with building projects of over 10,000 sq m. Fenestra has recently completed several projects in Sweden, including the Karolinska Institute’s Ki Aula lecture hall project in Stockholm.
This combination of Fenestra and the Skanska facades operation has subsequently created a significant market player showcasing deep technical and design capabilities. The strategy of combining these businesses is to capitalise on their respective specialist strengths while also maximising the potential of increased productivity and broadening geographic reach of said new direction.
“We have immense respect for the team and the inherent technical capabilities of the Skanska organisation – and we are pleased to join forces with them in order to create a larger and stronger combined enterprise. I look forward to working with the Skanska team and ARX in order to continue the long-term growth and development of Fenestra,” says Pavel Wieden, founder and CEO of Fenestra.
“The Fenestra investment is consistent with the ARX strategy to partner with leading Central European mid-sized business owners in order to unlock value and to accelerate growth, often via add-on acquisitions. The acquisition on the Skanska division is a representative example of our objective at ARX to be a reliable transaction partner for corporates seeking to divest non-core Central European assets,” says Tomas Lansky, a Partner with ARX.
