Private Equity News & Analysis

Montagu buys airfield lighting business from Siemens

The European private equity firm paid an undisclosed amount for the business, which has serviced more than 2,000 airports since it was formed in 1947.

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Montagu Private Equity has agreed to buy the airfield lighting business of German conglomerate Siemens for an undisclosed amount.

The sale is expected to be finalised in October, subject to antitrust approvals. The business, called ADB Airfield Solutions, makes products and provides services for visual guidance in airfields worldwide.

The deal is being financed with a debt package of €73 million from Bank of Ireland, West LB, Fortis Bank and KBC Bank.

Siemens acquired ADB in 1987. The Brussels-based business, which has serviced airfields since 1947, has supplied more than 2,000 airports around the world with lighting products.

“This is part of Siemens’ consistent strategy to focus on core business,” said Jorg Schneppendahl, chief executive officer of Siemens Mobility Division Traffic Solutions, about the sale.

Montagu was attracted to ADB because of its “substantial growth potential”, according to Sylvain Berger-Duquene, director at Montagu.

Montagu in August sold its portfolio company, Kalle, a maker of synthetic casings for sausages, to Silverfleet Capital for €212.5 million. Montagu, founded in 1968, operates in London, Paris, Stockholm, Dusseldorf and Manchester. It has more than €2.5 billion of assets under management.