POELLATH advises DPE Deutsche Private Equity on the sale of VTU Group to Altor Funds
Funds advised by DPE Deutsche Private Equity (“DPE”) have sold their stake in VTU Group, an Austrian engineering services provider for the life sciences and green transition industry in Europe. The buyer was the Swedish private equity firm Altor Funds (“Altor”). VTU’s management team, which also holds a stake in the Group, is co-investing with Altor as part of the sale. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. POELLATH provided tax advice to DPE in connection with the transaction.
Founded in 1990 in Graz, Austria, VTU Group is a leading process engineering company serving blue chip clients in the life sciences and green transition sectors. The company’s portfolio includes engineering solutions that cover the entire value chain in the project life cycle for its long-standing customers. VTU Group employs around 1,200 people at 36 locations in six European countries. The company is one of the few scalable, end-to-end platforms for technical solutions in Europe and has a strong position in key European markets.
DPE is an independent German private equity firm and one of the largest growth capital providers in Germany. DPE invests in medium-sized companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and focuses on industries with a positive, long-term development outlook. DPE was founded in 2007 and has since invested in 38 companies that have completed over 110 add-on acquisitions and today employ more than 10,000 people. DPE has total assets under management of approximately EUR 3 billion.
POELLATH advised DPE on all tax aspects in the context of the sale with the following Munich team:
- Dr. Michael Best (partner, lead, tax)
- Tobias Deschenhalm (senior associate, tax)
- Cornelius Roth (associate, tax)
