Heliad acquires shareholding in SHB AG, the market leader in the closed savings segment


Heliad Equity Partners GmbH & Co. KGaA / Miscellaneous
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++ Heliad acquires shareholding in SHB AG, the market leader in the    closed savings segment

++ At EUR 13.8 million, this marks Heliad’s largest transaction to date

Heliad, a publicly listed private equity company, has acquired a shareholding in the profitable, rapidly growing company SHB AG ('SHB'). With a purchase price of EUR 13.8 million for a 29.1% share in the company, this transaction simultaneously marks the largest single investment made by Heliad in its history.

SHB, which is based in Oberhaching near Munich is, together with its subsidiary, SHB Innovative Fondskonzepte AG, the German market leader for savings plans based on closed funds. The company focuses in particular on the real estate investment class, in which it has placed equity of more than EUR 700 million and a fund volume of approximately EUR 1.5 billion since its foundation in 2001.

The company’s success is attributable to the high quality of its products, which are offered in various product structures tailored to individual target groups. This makes the products interesting for large numbers of customers, such as building society savers, buyers of life insurance policies, investment savers or major individual institutional investors. SHB is the first fund provider, for example, to obtain official certification from the Technical Supervisory Association (TÜV) for its products. Alongside its broad customer base and its product quality, SHB has also benefited from the market trend towards increasing demand for private provision and the rise in interest shown in alternative products by sales representatives following the discontinuation of tax exemption for life insurance policies.

This has enabled the company to consistently post highly profitable growth averaging 50% a year since its establishment, generating sales of more than EUR 30 million in 2006 with its total of around 50 employees. Alongside its regular and growing stream of sales from capital placement activities, since this year SHB has also generated sales from the upgrading of real estate projects with development potential, thus enabling the company to considerably increase its share of the value chain, and thus of profits.
Heliad was advised on the transaction, on which its investment team had been working for almost a year, by Kepler Landsbanki Corporate Finance and the law form Aderhold v. Dalwigk Knüppel. The company is planning its to hold its IPO in the coming months.

Ralf Flore, CEO of Heliad, is extremely satisfied with the conclusion of the transaction and expects the shareholding to post a very positive performance. 'We are pleased to be the partner of choice of SHB. After all, the company ideally matches our investment focus – on companies which achieve very high growth, are profitable and owner-managed. At the same time, we are convinced that we can make an additional contribution to SHB’s further growth and are very much looking forward to working together in the coming years. Given its stable and profitable business model and its first-class management, the company therefore represents a further highlight within our portfolio.'

++ About Heliad
Heliad is a publicly listed investment company that focuses on companies in predominantly German-speaking countries. It invests in profitable, owner-managed companies that are undergoing a strong growth phase or that are in a special situation. Its goal is to generate an above-average risk/return ratio for its shareholders. With Heliad, investors therefore participate strongly in the growth prospects of traditional German SMEs as well as in upcoming German technology companies.

Heliad’s portfolio companies currently have more than 3,700 employees and generate cumulative annual sales of more than EUR 350 million.
Further information about the company can be found at www.heliad.de.

Contact:
Heliad Equity Partners GmbH & Co. KGaA

Alexander Mitsch
Chief Financial Officer
Tel.: +49 (0) 69 71 91 59 65 28
E-Mail: alexander.mitsch@heliad.de


DGAP 01.08.2007 

 
Language:     English
Issuer: Heliad Equity Partners GmbH & Co. KGaA               Grüneburgweg 18
              60322 Frankfurt am Main
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (0)69 719 15 965 0
Fax:          +49(0)69 719 15 965 11
E-mail:       info@heliad.de
Internet:     www.heliad.de
ISIN:         DE0006047293
WKN:          604729
Indices:      
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr               in Berlin, München, Stuttgart
 
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