PAI Partners, Lego owners acquiring Armacell 

Muster, Germany – European private equity firm PAI Partners, and Lego Group majority stakeholder Kirkbi A/S have agreed to acquire German industrial foams maker Armacell International Holding GmbH.

As part of the agreement, details of which have not been disclosed, PAI will become a majority shareholder in the flexible foam maker, which supplies mainly to the equipment insulation market.
 
Kirkbi, which has been an investor in Armacell since 2016, will increase its stake in the company to a “significant minority position”, said the companies in a joint statement 4 Dec 2019.

The move, according to Kirkbi, is in line with the company’s investment strategy of being a long-term owner of market leading companies. 
 
Based in Münster, Germany, Armacell manufactures advanced engineered foams for technical applications, including commercial and residential building equipment, as well as equipment and solutions for the wind power, energy, industrials, transport and sports & leisure sectors. 
 
Patrick Mathieu will continue as chief executive officer of Armacell. PAI and Kirkbi said they were committed to supporting the company’s objective of becoming “a global advanced material technologies leader.”
 
Armacell has 24 manufacturing facilities worldwide and employs over 3,000 people.
 
“I’m confident that PAI Partners’ extensive experience in the industrials sector... will prove to be a formidable partnership as we work to achieve this ambition,” said Armacell CEO Mathieu.
 
Headquartered in Paris, PAI has a long history of investing in the industrials sector and expects to drive Armacell’s further expansion through product innovation and a number of strategic acquisitions, explained Mathieu Paillat, partner and Philipp Meyer, principal, PAI Partners.
 
A private investment company owned by Lego Group CEO Kirk Kristiansen’s family, Kirkbi holds 75% of the Lego Group, 50% of Merlin Entertainments and has made investments in the renewable energy sector.
 
Citing people close to the matter, Reuters has valued the deal at between €1.3bn and €1.5bn.