goetzpartners advised Verdane

Fortlane Partners advised Verdane with a Commercial Due Diligence of Muegge GmbH as part of its acquisition of HQ Equita. Muegge is the leading global manufacturer of mission critical industrial microwave and microwave-assisted plasma systems for multiple applications, i.a., for the production of sustainable lab-grown diamonds.

Verdane, the European specialist growth investor, has acquired a portfolio of five profitable technology companies and partnered with HQ Equita. The HQ Equita Fund V portfolio in the transaction comprises five holdings: Ebertlang, a leading pan-European value-added distributor for cybersecurity and infrastructure software; Muegge, an industrial technology provider of plasma and microwave technologies for end markets including production of sustainable lab-grown diamonds; r2p-Group, a supplier of intelligent technology systems for public transport; indevis, a cybersecurity provider; and The Packaging Group, which develops advanced packaging technology that helps customers switch from plastic to sustainable paper packaging. The HQ Equita team will continue to operate independently, supporting the five companies on their individual growth tracks, in partnership with Verdane who will join the board of each company.

Emanuel Johnsson, Partner at Verdane, commented: “This is a perfect ‘Verdane portfolio deal’ in the sense that we worked closely with multiple stakeholders: HQ Equita, its long-standing LP base, and the management teams of each individual company in the portfolio. It has been a pleasure working closely with the representatives of HQ Group as well as the HQ Equita team, and we are very excited to support each of these five great companies individually, leveraging the Verdane platform and our extensive expertise scaling tech-enabled European companies.”

Fortlane Partners supported Verdane in assessing the broader market environment for lab-grown diamonds and Muegge’s positioning and right-to-win in this vertical. The lab-grown diamond market was examined with an in-depth analysis of prevalent manufacturing technologies and potential risk of substitution, historical and future supply and demand development and sustainability of underlying market dynamics, both from consumer’s and manufacturer’s perspective. Subsequently, key players supplying production machinery (components) were analyzed regarding their competitive positioning to ultimately derive Muegge’s competitive differentiation and technological edge. Further, the customer landscape of component providers was assessed regarding customer groups and their respective purchasing behavior and routes-to-market as well as an in-depth review of aftermarket dynamics.

This project complements Fortlane Partners' outstanding track record in providing strategic and commercial advisory services in the space of high-tech industrial applications and specifically microwave and plasma solutions.

About Muegge
Muegge is a leading manufacturer and supplier of mission critical industrial microwave and microwave-assisted plasma components and systems with a strong global footprint. Founded in 1979 and based in Reichelsheim, Germany, the Company provides reliable, cost-efficient and sustainable solutions for a range of industrial applications including the production of sustainable lab-grown diamonds.

About Verdane
Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable businesses based out of Europe to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane’s over 130 employees, based in Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, are dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses.

About HQ Equita
HQ Equita is one of the most experienced private equity investors in German speaking regions. Since its inception in 1992, the company has acquired a total of € ~1bn in capital commitments and invested in over 35 enterprises. Investors include institutions, family offices, foundations and trusts as well as notable entrepreneurial families – including the Harald Quandt family.

Transaction team:

Dr. Gerrit Schütte
Managing Director
 

David Oesterschlink
Principal

Maximilian Rudolph
Senior Consultant

Linh Dong
Senior Consultant

Stefan Brückl
Consultant

Louisa Frank
Consultant

Julian Hermanutz
Consultant