Deutsche Beteiligungs adds to industrial portfolio

Deutsche Beteiligungs, the listed private equity firm that primarily focuses on the German-speaking middle market, has invested E24m to acquire RHI AG, a Vienna-based engineering business which specialises in facilities and components used in high-temperature manufacture of iron, aluminium or power generation.

Deutsche and a co-investing fund managed by it invested in the business to add to an industrial engineering portfolio that already comprises Lignum Technologie, which in 2001 was forced to postpone an IPO as a result of adverse market conditions, DS Technilogie and Andritz.

RHI, which going forward will be trading as Hochtemperatur Engineering in Germany, has 780 employees across six division and nine core companies.  The financial investors will control 92.5 per cent of the company’s shares, with management holding the balance.

Deutsche, Germany’s oldest private equity house, currently manages around E500m of invested capital.