Clairfield International Germany - Financial Career

Clairfield International Germany 

Company Profile 

Düsseldorf - Frankfurt – Stuttgart 

2012

Table of Content 

I. Clairfield International 3 

II. Clairfield‘s M&A Advisory Services 10 

III. Selected References 14 

IV. Team 25 

Clairfield International Germany


I. Clairfield International

Clairfield‘s 27 offices cover more than 30 countries 

USA 

Atlanta 

Charlotte 

Dallas 

Los Angeles 

New York 

South America 

Brasil 

APAC 

Australia 

China 

India 

Japan 

Singapore 

Our Focus 

Mid-market 

Cross-border 

Senior 

Involvement 

Advisory 

board 


Clairfield is one of the leading independent M&A advisory 

firms in the mid-market segment, encompassing transactions 

with an enterprise value of up to US$ 500m. 

Our presence with 27 offices in over 30 countries allows us to 

add exceptional value to our clients in cross-border 

transactions. 

Clairfield’s high ratio of senior partners and directors to 

junior level employees ensures that senior team members 

are significantly present in all phases of the transaction. 

In addition Clairfield International can rely on an extensive 

network of industry experts and a senior advisory board in 

each country. 

In Numbers 

260 

107 

$ 4.6bn 

# 10 

# 13 

Europe 

Austria 

Belgium 

Czech Republic 

Finland 

France 

Italy 

Netherlands 

Norway 

Poland 

Portugal 

Switzerland 

Slovakia 

Spain 

UK 

Sweden 

Corporate finance and M&A professionals across 30 

countries 

Transactions closed in 2011 ( 50% cross-border) 

Cumulative value of transactions closed in 2011 

Germany 

� Düsseldorf 

� Frankfurt 

� Stuttgart 

Ranked in Thomson Reuters M&A Advisory Firm in Europe 

Ranked in Thomson Reuters Worldwide Small-Cap (2011) 

4

Assisting clients in middle-market, cross-border M&A transactions 


Clairfield International Germany, the German part of Clairfield International is 

an independent, owner managed M&A advisory firm established in 2000. 

Today there are 25 M&A professionals in the German-speaking area, whereby 

the background of each of the eight partners includes experience at wellknown 

firms in consulting and industry. 

The international presence of Clairfield International allows our clients to 

access not only local knowledge of the regional office but also industry experts 

internationally. 

UK 

5% 

Sweden 

2% 

Spain 

5% 

Poland 

3% 

US 

14% 

Netherlands 

18% 

Australia 

5% 

2011 Transactions 

by Country 

Italy 

9% 


Belgium 

1% Brazil 

2% 

Czech Republic & 

Slovakia 

8% 

India 

13% 

France 

10% 


6% 

Fund raising & 

advisory 

30% 


by Category 

Advisory Services 

Mergers & 

Acquisitions 

Buy side 

25% 

Sell side 

45% 

� International and domestic management and execution of 

sell-side mandates 

� Design, initiation and execution of international and 

domestic acquisition opportunities 

� Strategic alternative reviews 

� Distressed M&A 

Capital Raising � Financial sponsor transactions (MBO and LBO) 

� Equity growth capital 

� Debt advisory 

� Project finance 

� Private placements and IPOs 

Strategic 

Advisory 

� Advisory on mergers and joint ventures 

� Strategic advisory services, such as valuations and fairness 

opinions 

� Financial restructuring advisory services 

Industrials 

20% 

TMT 

18% 

Healthcare 

12% 


by Sector 

Food & 

agribusiness 

7% 

Business & 

financial services 

22% 

Natural resources, 

cleantech & 

energy 

10% 

Consumer goods 

11% 

5

Awards 

“One of the top 3 independent 

M&A advisory firms in the world” 

by 


2011 

Recent M&A Accolades and Awards 

2011 

Worldwide Mid-Market Award 

Recognized as one of the top 30 M&A advisory firms worldwide 

US Mid-Market Award 

Recognized as one of the top 40 M&A advisory firms in the US 

European Mid-Market Award 

Recognized as one of the top 20 M&A advisory firms in Europe 

Worldwide Small-Market Award 

Recognized as one of the top 15 M&A advisory firms worldwide 

Global Leading Firms Award 

Top Tier Banking 

2011 M&A Deal of the Year – Netherlands 

(3i acquisition of Action) 

Clairfield acted as advisor to 3i 

2010 Business Advisory Firm of the Year – Germany 

2009 

Corporate Advisory Firm of the Year – Germany 

West European Investment Bank of the Year 

2009 M&A Deal of the Year – Europe 

(Balfour Betty acquisition of RT Dooley) 

Clairfield acted as advisor to RT Dooley 

6

SUBSECTOR 

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS 

SECTOR 

Sector focus and expertise 

Business & Financial 

Services 

• Business services 

• Distribution 

• Logistics 

• Financial services 

• Industrial Services 

• Education 

• Staffing 

• Engineering 


Natural Resources, 

Cleantech & Energy 

• Metals & mining 

• Oil & Gas 

• Renewable Energy 

• Power 

Consumer Goods & 

Retail 

• Consumer goods 

• Retail 

• Hotels & gaming 

• Real estate 

• Furniture 

• Luxury goods & 

services 

• Cosmetics 

Food & 

Agribusiness 

• Food & beverage 

• Food chain 

• Food services 

• Food ingredients 

• Sports nutrition 

• Agribusiness 

Healthcare & 

Life Sciences 

• Medical devices 

• Medical supplies 

• Pharma 

• Biotech 

• Animal health 

• Lab services & 

equipment 

• Hospitals & clinics 

Industrials 

• General industrials 

• Building materials 

• Test & measuring 

• Automotive 

• Machinery 

• Packaging 

• Chemicals 

• Aerospace/Defense 

Technology, Media 

& Telecoms 

• Digital & traditional 

media 

• IT services 

• IT consulting 

• Hardware & 

software 

• Telecommunications 

equipment 

7

Selected Transactions in 2011 

Client Counterparty Sector Date Comments 

WDC Manpower Group Staffing services April 2011 WDC sold a 74% stake to Manpower 

Arla Foods Polmlek Food November 2011 Arla Foods sold a production subsidiary to Polmlek 

BSN Glanbia Sports nutrition January 2011 Bio-Engineered Supplements & Nutrition was sold to Glanbia 

BDR Thermea Group Fluidmaster General Industrials September 2011 Opella was sold to Fluidmaster 

3i Group Action Retail July 2011 3i Group acquired Action 

Scotch & Soda Kenwood Consumer goods July 2011 Scotch & Soda was acquired by Sun Capital Partners’ Kenwood 

Viva Sante LM Farma Medical supplies August 2011 Viva Sante’ acquired a majority stake in LM Farma 

Clearwire Private investors Telecommunications March 2011 Clearwire sold Clearwire Poland Holdings to private investors 

GFT Technologies Asymo IT consulting June 2011 GFT acquired Asymo 

Prylos Doro Mobile apps July 2012 Prylos was sold to Doro France, a subsidiary of Swedish group Doro AB 

The Digital Partnership Martini Media Media July 2011 The Digital Partnership was sold to Martini Media 

Wallie Paysafecard IT services August 2011 Wallie was sold to Paysafecard 

Madrange Limougeoise de Salaisons Food July 2011 Madrange was sold to Limougeoise de Salaisons 

Bostwick Laboratories Metalmark Capital Lab services October 2011 Bostwick Laboratories completed a recapitalization with Metalmark 

Gilde Buy Out Partners Roompot Hotels & gaming June 2011 Gilde Buy Out Partners acquired Roompot 

Clairfield International Germany 8

Selected Transactions in 2011 (cont‘d) 

Client Counterparty Sector Date Comments 

Argos Oil EQT Oil & Gas June 2011 Argos Oil sold the majority of the shares of its terminal division to EQT 

Alier Enel Green power Renewable Energy December 2011 Alier acquired a minority stake in Energètica de Rosselló, AIE from Enel 

Explosive Service Industrial group Metals & Mining December 2011 Explosive Services was sold to a leading European industrial group 

BDR Thermea Group Baymark Makina General Industrials May 2011 BDR Thermea Group acquired Baymark Makina 

Burkhardt + Weber Industrias Romi Machinery December 2011 Burkhardt + Weber was sold to Industrias Romi 

Cassina Packaging Group Greif Packaging July 2011 Cassina sold its 100% stake in the share capital of Fustiplast to Greif 

e-plast ESBELT General Industrials December 2011 E-plast management acquired 80% of the Company owned by ESBELT 

Trinoxia Outokumpu Oil & Gas September 2011 Trinoxia acquired a minority stake in OSTP AB, a division of Outokumpu 

Venameca Group / EMID CIWI Distribution March 2011 Venameca Group/EMID acquired Carolina Insulation & Wire, Inc. 

OMS Indo Asian General Industrials August 2012 OMS entered into a Joint Venture with Indo Asian 

Vega Consultoria Egis Engineering services September 2011 Vega Consultoria was sold to Egis 

Correl Rail SGS Industrial services June 2011 Correl Rail was sold to SGS 

Interparking Poland Car Parking Industrial services December 2011 Interparking acquired Poland Car Parking 

Accent Jobs Management Staffing Services December 2011 Accent Jobs sold its Spanish operations to management 

LMC ALMA Staffing services December 2011 LMC was acquired by ALMA 



II. Clairfield’s M&A Advisory Services

Clairfield’s advisory services in sell and buy side projects 

Strategic assessment 

Market analysis 

Financial analysis 

Documentation and 

presentations 

Communication and 

process management 

Offer drafting and 

analysis 

Company financing 

Negotiations 

Other services 


• Assist in reviewing and assessing the options available to successfully carry out an M&A transaction, and deliver recommendations on 

the best alternatives, the likely parameters of a transaction and the best path forward. 

• Provide overview of the entire M&A transaction process, describing typical steps and potential pitfalls. 

• Advice on the strategy and tactics, structure, process, timing and conduct of a transaction. 

• Conduct extensive market analysis to identify key industry drivers and trends. 

• Identification and approach of suitable prospective targets or buyers or investors. 

• Assist in developing financial projections and advise on relevant valuation drivers. Perform detailed company valuation analyses 

implementing ad hoc valuation methodologies. 

• Using publicly available information and/or information supplied by the target (in particular, recent historical and forward-looking 

financial information), prepare a financial analysis of the target in the context of a transaction. 

• Prepare and review any documentation, including marketing materials, information memoranda, management presentations, vendor 

due diligence reports or similar documents regarding a transaction. 

• In depth analysis of documentation provided by target or buyer. 

• Coordinate public documentation filing, including press announcements or any regulatory filings required in connection with a 

transaction. 

• Communication with client and its other advisors regarding the due diligence requirements for a transaction. 

• Review and advise on possible strategic routes to follow. Coordinating and obtaining additional required information. 

• Assistance in developing and determining bidding strategy and on drafting an indicative and final bid letter. 

• Analysis of and feedback on offers received by prospective buyers. 

• Advise on the merits and implications of any financing packages and analysis of financing options available to client to execute a 

transaction. 

• Assist in preparing documentation required by lenders to obtain financing for a transaction. 

• Assist with the negotiation of the price, terms and conditions of a transaction with target or buyer and its advisors. 

• Assist Client in assessing options and merits thereof for any deferred consideration arrangements. 

• Provide other services as client may reasonably request in connection with a transaction. 

• Assist in the selection of other advisors (i.e.: lawyers, accountants and tax specialists). 

11

Clairfield International Germany’s Advisory Committee 

To produce tailor made solutions to all of your questions and requirements, partners are being supported by an advisory committee. All 

members of the advisory committee have an ample network of contacts to open doors and facilitate transactions. 

Science 

Business studies / Controlling 

Prof. Dr. Lothar Grebe 

Patent law 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Helge B. Cohausz 

Takeover / Insolvency Law 

Prof. Dr. Heribert Hirte 

Finance / Law Corporate Management 

Asset Management 

Dipl.-Kfm. Ekkehard Schwartzkopff 

Banking 

Dr. Karsten von Köller 

Company law / Fiscal law 

Dr. Alexander von Samson 

Corporate Finance 

Prof. Dr. Hans Waschkowski 

Private Equity 

Reinhard Löffler 

Capital market oriented corporate 

governance 

Dr. Karl Michael Millauer 

Change Management 

Wolfgang Gattermeyer 

Corporate planning 

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hemel 

Entrepreneurship 

Prof. Dr. Christoph Müller 

Marketing/ Brand introduction 

Dr. Gerd Hänel 


Clairfield International Germany’s Industry Experts 

Clairfield International Germany collaborates with more than 30 industry experts who have held or currently hold positions as directors, 

executives, or other senior functions in prestigious companies. They have excellent knowledge of their industries, a wide personal network 

and can make valuable contacts for you. They know exactly what is important in your industry and can open doors that may remain closed to 

others. 

Automotive Industry 

Automotive Subsupply 

Industries 

Dr. Lothar Bopp 

Dirk Echtermeyer 

Dipl. Wi.-Ing. Jürgen Köster 

Aerospace 

Dr. Volker Behrendt 

Coalmining machinery 

Heinrich Korfmann 

Construction material 

Richard Ziegler 

Packaging machinery 

Jürgen E.A. Bouvier 

Telecommunication / 

IT Services 

IT Management and 

Consulting 

Bernhard Achter 

Telecommunication 

Andreas Bernhardt 

Bernhard Steimel 

Plant construction 

Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Urban 

Sanitary 

Dr. Lothar Bopp 

Steel construction 

Rolf Zinke 

Industrial Services / 

Media Commodities 

BPO 

Entertainment 

Arwed-Ralf Grenzbach 

Film funds 

Dr. Ernst-August Schnieder 

Publishers 

Axel Bartholomäus 

Bakery products and 

confectionary 

Stefan von Klebelsberg 

Food retailing 

Jürgen Erbach 

Steel trading 

Prof. Dr. Lothar Grebe 

Brand-name products 

Christoph Kleinen 

Leasing 

Wolfgang Spahn 

Logistics 

Tilman Eckstein 

Quality Assurance 

Dr.-Ing. Gerwig Köster 

Cosmetics and tissues 

Dr. Gerd Hänel 

Commodities 

Bernhard Tubeileh 

Investment goods 1 Investment goods 2 Wholesale and Retail Consumer Products Health Care 

Cosmetic products 

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hemel 

Medtech 

Stefan Hartl 

Pharmaceutical industry 

Frank Füßl 



III. Selected References

Automotive Industry/ Machinery and Plant Construction 


15

Industrial Services 


AWS Group AG 

erhält eine Finanzierung 

von 

Zukunftsfonds 

Heilbronn 

SynCap Partner hat das 

Unternehmen vom Business Plan 

bis zur Finanzierung exklusiv 

begleitet 

16

TMT (1/3) 

WiredMinds AG 


von 

Creathor Venture 


Unternehmen vom Business Plan 

bis zur Finanzierung exklusiv 

begleitet 


BroadU 

erhält eine 

Finanzierung 

von 

Balderton 

Capital 


Unternehmen vom 

Business Plan bis zur 

Finanzierung exklusiv 

begleitet 

Sale 

Ndevr 

was sold to 

Private investors 

Clairfield advised Ndevr. 

2006 

17

TMT (2/3) 

Datalogic 

merged with 

Sistac 

Clairfield advised both 

parties. 

2008 

was sold to 

Clairfield advised Adimpo 

2009 


Blue Fox 

divested 

Pollux 

to 

Informal Capital 

Network 

Clairfield advised Blue 

Fox. 

2007 

Systeam IT 

was sold to 

Brain Force AG 

Clairfield advised systeam. 

2006 

Technisyst Limited 

was sold to 

Kestrel Capital 

Clairfield advised Technisyst. 

2007 

SIDE International 

was sold to 

EastNets Europe, 

a subsidiary of 

EastNets 

Clairfield advised SIDE. 

2007 

euroscript 

acquired 

DELT ICT 

Clairfield advised euroscript. 

2006 

Dark Blue Sea 

was sold to 

Photon 

Clairfield advised Dark Blue 

Sea. 

2006 

Symbol Luxury GmbH 


von 

Privatinvestoren 

in CH und UK 


Unternehmen vom Business 

Plan bis zur Finanzierung 

exklusiv begleitet 

18

TMT (3/3) 


Clairfield advised Teta 

2008 

Eos and Altawapa 

were sold to 

Webhelp 

Clairfield advised Eos and 

Altawapa 

19

Health Care and other services 


20

Industrial Goods Industry (1/2) 


Industrial Goods Industry (2/2) 


22

Wholesale and Retail 


23

Distressed M&A 

aquired 

a.s. 


advised the buyer 

Arau Maschinenbau 

GmbH 

Clairfield International 


exclusively advised the 

insolvency administrator 

aquired 


advised the buyer 

aquired 





Rau 

Maschinenbau GmbH 





Pedex & Co. KG 



advised the seller 

Germann 

Kunststofftechnik GmbH 






IV. Team 

Clairfield International Germany

Senior Partners 


Dr.-Ing. Lutz Lorenz 

Lutz started his professional career in 1977 in industry and subsequently worked in Investment Banking/ Mergers & Acquisitions for more than 

30 years. His industrial experiences are backed by a couple of years within the former Mannesmann Group and with Kleinewefers Group of 

Companies as head of the central Marketing Department. Lutz went into banking in 1983 by joining WestLB as deputy head of the M&A 

Department. In late 1990 he became co-founder and MD of Banexi Deutschland GmbH, the German CF entity of the former BNP Group. Until 

2001 Lutz also held senior positions at KPMG and as Executive Director at UBS Deutschland. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering 

(Dipl.-Ing.) from University of Karlsruhe as well a PhD. (Dr.-Ing.) in Ferrous Metallurgy from Technical University of Aachen/ Aix-la-Chapelle. 

E-mail: lorenz@syncap.de 

Dr. Albert A. Schander 

Prior to founding SynCap, Albert worked as Executive Director/ Co-Head Corporate Finance for an international Investment Banking Group 

where he was responsible for international fund raising projects and public placements. Further milestones in his career were BAI (Deutsche 

Bank Group)/ Milan, KPMG/ Milan and Lehman Brothers/ Frankfurt, where he, among other responsibilities, advised on M&A transactions of 

international scope. Albert studied Law and Economics at the Universities of Passau, Pavia/ Italy and Munich. He is qualified as an attorney-atlaw 

in Germany and earned his law degree from Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich and his PhD from Friedrich-Schiller-University of 

Jena. 

E-mail: schander@syncap.de 

Dirk F. Freiland 

Dirk has nine years experience in M&A and corporate finance. Prior to SynCap he was co-founder of a medium sized M&A company in southern 

Germany. Before he worked as senior manager at Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) in Strategy and Change Management where he 

was in his last function responsible for building up the M&A team and activities for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Further milestones in his 

career were a small service company he build up from 20 up to 120 people within 14 months and Alcatal (Paris) where he worked in research 

and development. Dirk studied mechanical engineering, electronics and computer science of the university of applied sciences of 

Esslingen/Stuttgart and Paris. 

E-mail: freiland@syncap.de 

26



Dr. Wolfgang Knop 

Wolfgang was a member of the board of Langbein-Pfanhauser Werke AG, a medium-sized publicly quoted group of companies with a 

workforce of 3,700, from 1990 to 2004 (and acted as CEO as of 2001). At the beginning of his career Wolfgang worked between 1983 and 1990 

for Arthur Andersen, ultimately taking a leading position in the servicing of large companies as a partner of the tax department. After his 

studies in economics at the University of Duisburg, Wolfgang worked as a research associate for the Chair of Accounting and Controlling and 

university lecturer in accounting at the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration in Duisburg between 1980 and 1983. He 

received a PhD in business administration (Dr. rer. oec.) with honors in 1983. 

E-mail: knop@syncap.de 

Christian Sanner 

Christian has more than 30 years of managerial experience in the automotive industry. During his career at DaimlerChrysler Group, Christian 

served various positions as a manager and managing director after joining the Corporate Audit department of Daimler-Benz AG in 1972. 

Between 1995 and 2002, he was a member of the board of Düsseldorf-based company Mercedes-Benz Lenkungen GmbH, which was spun off 

from the group and sold successfully to ThyssenKrupp under his supervision as commercial director. Christian has studied engineering and 

business economics in Berlin and Hamburg and graduated with a master's degree in business administration (Dipl.-Kaufmann) from the 

University of Hamburg. 

E-mail: sanner@syncap.de 

Rolf H. Becker 

Rolf Becker has joined German partner SynCap Management as a Managing Partner. Mr. Becker started his career at German Degussa AG 

where he spent 10 years, 6 of them as Head of M&A where he closed a wide range of transactions in the chemicals and metals sector. After 

that he spent 5 years as Director Corporate Finance at ABN Amro in Frankfurt, advising numerous clients on cross-border transactions, 

especially in the European utilities sector. Before starting to work as an independent consultant in 2007, he was Head of M&A Transactions at 

RWE Solutions AG, where he successfully divested all non-core of subsidiaries of the Group. Mr. Becker holds a master of business 

administration from the University of Economics Vienna. 

E-mail: becker@syncap.de 

27



Darius Kianzad 

Darius Kianzad began his career in 1991 at the Treuhandanstalt in Halle and Berlin. Between 1993 and 2005, Mr. Kianzad held leading positions 

in renowned audit firms and investment banks such as PricewaterhouseCoopers in Frankfurt and Senior Vice President M&A at Sal. Oppenheim 

where he was in charge of M&A transactions in the energy and automotive sectors and also became co-leader of the Industrials segment. 

Between 2006 and 2010, Mr. Kianzad was a member of the Management board at ista Group, a leading international energy services company, 

in charge of Corporate Development/M&A and Regional head of the „Emerging Markets“. 

Darius Oliver Kianzad graduated with a master´s degree in Economics (University of Heidelberg) and has completed a General management 

program at the University of St. Gallen and the Advanced management program at INSEAD. 

E-mail: kianzad@syncap.de 

Andreas Piechotta 

Andreas Piechotta has been involved in international equity- and transaction business for almost 16years. As a partner of a known international 

M&A advisory company he has been responsible for business development in Eastern Europe and has managed to execute an amount of cross 

border transactions, e. g. in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia. Andreas Piechotta began his career 1994 at Pfeifer & Langen, a known sugar 

producing German company group. He supported there an amount of privatization processes in the Polish sugar industry. From 1997 to 2004 

Andreas Piechotta focused on Private Equity activities of DEWB AG, a subsidiary of JENOPTIK Group.Born in Poland Andreas Piechotta studied 

law at the University Bayreuth/Germany with a particular focus on economy law. 

E-mail: piechotta@syncap.de 

28

Contact: Office Stuttgart, Managing Partner Dirk F. Freiland 

International 

Offices 

www.clairfield.com 

Office Stuttgart 

Mörikestr. 11 

D-70178 Stuttgart 


Tel.: +49 (711) 620079 - 0 

Fax: +49 (711) 620079 - 29 

stuttgart@syncap.de 

Clairfield Belgium 

Brussels 

Clairfield England 

Birmingham 

London 

Clairfield France 

Paris 

Clairfield Italy 

Milan 

Reggio Emilia 

Turin 

Clairfield Netherlands 

Amsterdam 

Office Frankfurt 

Friedrich- Ebert- Anlage 18 

D-60325 Frankfurt am Main 

Tel.: +49 (69) 707969-60 

Fax: +49 (69) 707969-99 

frankfurt@syncap.de 

Office Düsseldorf 

Tersteegenstr. 28 

D-40474 Düsseldorf 

Tel.: + 49 (211) 415546-14 

Fax: + 49 (211) 415546-29 

duesseldorf@syncap.de 

Europe Americas Asia and Australia 

Clairfield Poland 

Warsaw 

Clairfield Sweden 

Stockholm 

Clairfield Schwitzerland 

Genf 

Clairfield Slovakia 

Bratislava 

Clairfield Spain 

Barcelona 

Madrid 

Clairfield Czech Republic 

Prague 

Clairfield Brazil 

Sao Paulo 

Fortaleza 

Clairfield USA 

Atlanta 

Charlotte 

Dallas 

Los Angeles 

New York 

Clairfield Australia 

Brisbane 

Sydney 

Clairfield China 

Beijing 

Clairfield India 

Ahmedabad 

Bangalore 

Mumbai 

Clairfield Singapore 

Singapore 

29

Clairfield International Germany - Financial Career

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