Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
dear business partners,
we are pleased to inform you that we exclusively advised the shareholders of the tradition-rich Gottfried Stiller Group - MEGABAD, based in Cologne, on the acquisition of an investment by VR Equitypartner GmbH, Frankfurt.
The family-run Gottfried Stiller Group was founded more than 85 years ago as a supplier of sanitary and heating products and grew within a short period of time to become Cologne's largest specialist sanitary retailer. Today, the successful company presents its range of bathroom products in two specialist stores in Cologne and Bochum. In 2003, the webshop MEGABAD.com, which today forms the core of the company, was launched with its claim "Der Profi fürs Bad" (The professional for the bathroom) as Germany's first sanitary online supplier. The Gottfried Stiller Group regularly wins awards in customer surveys and comparative tests, and today ranks among the top German online retailers in this segment with its full range of bathroom furniture, shower cabins, ceramics, fittings and accessories. The Gottfried Stiller Group employs a total of around 200 people and sells products from all well-known manufacturers as well as its own high-quality brands. In addition to private customers, who make up the majority, tradesmen and other professional customers are also among the buyers.
"As a medium-sized entrepreneur, I am thrilled by the in-depth understanding of the consulting team to have found the right partner for us based on my ideas. From a professional as well as a personal point of view, I am glad to have had Mr. Häming and the team of CF-MB on our side for this project", says Stefan Stiller.
Christian Futterlieb, Managing Director at VR Equitypartner, summarizes the special expertise of the company: "The Gottfried Stiller Group is a strong medium-sized family business that has very successfully developed into a leading multi-channel supplier of sanitary products. In the high-growth, cyclically resilient online sanitary market, MEGABAD.com has been able to establish itself among the top two with a highly attractive business model." Tim Feld, member of the management team at VR Equitypartner, added: "MEGABAD.com's excellent positioning is based on many years of comprehensive expertise both in dealing with brand manufacturers and in online sales. Based on this, we now want to jointly expand and continue the growth strategy - for example, through continuous expansion of the private label portfolio and internationalization in promising Western European markets."
"We are pleased to have jointly created the ideal framework for this by finding the right partner for the Gottfried Stiller Group that meets the requirements of the shareholder family and the future corporate strategy. Bringing together companies from the family-run Mittelstand with medium-sized financial investors in order to better exploit the company's potential - that is our strength," adds Carsten Häming.
Sparkasse KölnBonn, which has closely accompanied the shareholder family since the group was founded, supported them in their growth plans by bringing in CF-MB.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approval; the parties have agreed not to disclose further transaction details.
