Blue Cap AG sells portfolio company nokra to Vishay Precision Group
_ Sale of the 90% stake in nokra Optische Prüftechnik und Automation GmbH to Vishay Precision Group
_ Sales price in the low single-digit million range and above the most recent net asset value valuation
Munich, September 30, 2024 Blue Cap AG ("Blue Cap") today concluded an agreement on the sale of its 90% stake in nokra Optische Prüftechnik und Automation GmbH ("nokra") (see also Blue Cap's ad hoc release dated September 30, 2024). The buyer is the Vishay Precision Group ("VPG").
The total proceeds (before taxes) are in the single-digit million range and a good EUR 1 million above the net asset value valuation as at June 30, 2024. The sale of the company corresponds to an annual return on invested capital (internal rate of return) of around 21% and a multiple on the capital employed of around 6x.
nokra, which has been part of Blue Cap since 2014, manufactures high-precision, laser-optical measuring systems for the automatic inline inspection of geometric dimensions. Typical applications include the flatness measurement of sheet metal and plates, the thickness measurement of strip materials, the curvature of windshields and 3D dimensions of hot forged parts. Customers include automotive suppliers, plant manufacturers and steel and aluminum producers.
Blue Cap acquired nokra in 2014 and, together with the management, transformed the company with strategic and operational measures. During its affiliation with Blue Cap, the company continued to develop its product groups with a high level of innovation and increased the scalability of its products.
With the sale of its smallest investment announced today, Blue Cap has realized its first exit this year. It is part of Blue Cap's best-owner approach, which implies the sale of investments after realizing the potential for value appreciation. Dr. Henning von Kottwitz, CEO of Blue Cap, emphasizes: "I am very pleased to announce the exit of nokra today. Even though nokra is a relatively small company in our portfolio, it shows that we are consistently working on the realization of our goals. We will continue to focus on successfully realizing the planned sales in order to create sustainable value for our investors."
Günter Lauven, Managing Director of nokra, adds: "The expertise and competence of Blue Cap have made a significant contribution to the further development of nokra in recent years. We are very grateful to the entire team for this. We are now looking forward to continuing our growth and innovations in a new constellation - VPG is the right partner for this."
Due to the small size of the company, the forecast for 2024 as a whole has not been adjusted as a result of the transaction. The Management Board continues to expect consolidated revenue for 2024 as a whole to be in the range of EUR 270-290 million and an adjusted(1) EBITDA margin of 8.5-9.5%.
1) Adjustments: Adjusted for extraordinary, out-of-period and other effects from reorganization measures and one-off effects