SECOP sold to Japanese Nidec Group – Noerr advises AURELIUS on largest exit in the company’s history

Noerr has advised the listed venture capital company AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA on the largest exit in the company’s history to date. The SECOP Group, which has production facilities and branches worldwide, is being sold to the major Japanese group Nidec at a valuation of €185 million. At the same time, AURELIUS has proposed that the dividends to be announced in the upcoming general meeting be doubled. 

SECOP is a global supplier of specialised compressors for refrigerators and freezers in the “Household” and “Light Commercial” segments. SECOP’s Household division is a leading supplier of compressors for refrigerators and freezers in Europe. Its Light Commercial division sells compressors for commercial use worldwide, such as  frozen goods counters in supermarkets and hermetic compressors.

In 2010, AURELIUS took over the household compressors division from the Danish Danfoss Group and turned it into a profitable high-tech niche supplier as a result of intensive operational measures. SECOP is headquartered in Flensburg, Germany and additionally has production facilities in Austria, Slovakia and China. Nidec, a leading supplier of electric motors as well as components and accessories, is expanding its product portfolio with its acquisition of SECOP. The successful exit meant that AURELIUS was able to increase its invested capital around 11-fold, achieving a positive earnings impact of around €100 million.

The transaction is subject to approval by the competent antitrust authorities and is expected to close in the coming months.

A Noerr team led by Prof. Christian Pleister, co-head of the Private Equity practice group, advised AURELIUS on the complex transaction. Noerr also acted as lead counsel, coordinating the international law firms and providing stock and capital markets advice through Dr Gerald Reger and Dr Julian Schulze De la Cruz. Noerr has frequently advised AURELIUS in the past, for example on the conversion of AURELIUS AG into a partnership limited by shares (SE & Co. KGaA) and on stock market and capital markets-related topics.

Advisors to AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA: Noerr LLP

Prof. Christian Pleister (lead, Private Equity, Frankfurt/Berlin), Martin Nigl, Dr Sabine Klett (both Munich), Dr Till Kosche (Frankfurt, all Corporate/M&A), Dr Gerald Reger (Munich), Dr Julian Schulze De la Cruz (Frankfurt, both Capital Markets)

Associates: Dr Laurenz Tholen, Alison Heinze, Dr Anna Olbrys-Sobieszuk, Kenny Koa (all Private Equity, Berlin), Dr Georg Langheld, Anne-Kristin Schiller, Jasmin Wagner (all Capital Markets, Munich)

Slovakian law: Martin Tupek (Corporate/M&A, Bratislava)

Law of the People’s Republic of China: JIA YUAN (Yaxin Song, Qian Zhou)

US law: Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A. (Samuel Nolan, Michael Allen)

In-house law (AURELIUS): Dr Frank Forster, Dr Stephan Werner, Dr Christoph Keller, Dr Fabian Camek

Tax law (AURELIUS): Dr Marco Dietel, Christian Steigerwald