Peter Spuhler buys back Capvis stake
Peter Spuhler buys back Capvis's 20% stake in Stadler Rail and increases its employee participation programme. The buyback will be completed over three years, with half of the shares changing hands immediately and the remainder split into three equal instalments for Stadler Rail and Peter Spuhler over the next three years. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. This process will result in a phased end to the commitment of Capvis to Stadler Rail after six years.
Capvis and Peter Spuhler, CEO and owner of Stadler Rail Group, signed the buyback agreement on Thursday, 1 March 2012. This process will result in a phased end to Capvis's commitment to Stadler Rail in 2015 after a total of nine years. The buyback will allow Peter Spuhler to increase the employee participation programme from its current 10% to a maximum 15% of the share capital. The remaining 15% will be taken over by Peter Spuhler, increasing his stake in Stadler Rail to at least 85%.
Capvis acquired 20% of the shares in Stadler Rail in 2006 as it believed the company had great potential. Stadler Rail has indeed lived up to this potential with organic growth in turnover virtually trebling from CHF 786 million to CHF 2.4 billion (budget for 2012) and an increase in the number of staff from around 2,000 to 4,500. Rolf Friedli, Partner at Capvis, comments: “It has been a privilege to play a part in the success story of Stadler Rail and the team led by Peter Spuhler, a successful business leader with both real vision and passion.”
Peter Spuhler also acknowledged the cooperation with Capvis: “Stadler Rail always benefited from Capvis's knowledge and experience. I found Capvis to be a professional partner who acted fairly and with a real commitment to the company's best interests. I believe the gradual withdrawal is a fair solution. It means that I can take over Capvis' stake with a manageable level of debt and at the same time, expand the employee participation programme, thereby increasing my team's involvement in taking on corporate responsibility.”
Rolf Friedli will remain a member of Stadler Rail's Board of Directors. Swiss Capital Group acted as Peter Spuhler's exclusive financial adviser for this transaction.
About Stadler Rail Group
Stadler Rail Group, system supplier of customer-specific solutions for rail vehicle construction, has locations in Switzerland (Altenrhein, Bussnang, Winterthur and Biel), in Germany (Berlin- Pankow, Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, Berlin-Reinickendorf and Velten), in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Algeria and in the USA. The Group has a workforce of about 4,500 people. The best-known vehicle series from Stadler Rail Group are the articulated multipleunit train GTW (553 trains sold), the Regio-Shuttle RS1 (497 trains sold), the FLIRT (718 trains sold) and the double-decker multiple-unit train KISS (133 trains sold) in the railway segment, and the Variobahn (290 vehicles sold) and the Tango (101 vehicles sold) in the tram segment. Furthermore, Stadler Rail manufactures metre-gauge trains, passenger carriages and locomotives and is the world's leading manufacturer of rack-and-pinion rail vehicles.
About Capvis
Capvis is the leading buyout firm in Switzerland and one of the top players in German-speaking Europe. With actual funds of EUR 600 million, Capvis primarily takes on majority stakes in leading medium-sized companies. The aim is to work with the management teams to release sustainable entrepreneurial potential and to steer the businesses to new levels of excellence. Since 1990, the Capvis team has conducted 41 transactions with a total volume of more than EUR 3 billion. Capvis accompanied nine companies in an IPO, and has repeatedly been named the best private equity firm in Switzerland by the international specialist press.
If you have any questions, please contact
Stadler Rail Group
Vincenza Trivigno, Leiterin Kommunikation
Telephone: ++41 (0) 71 / 626 20 34
Mobile: ++41 (0) 79 / 430 69 68
Vincenza.trivigno@stadlerrail.com