BrazilGerman steel distributor Buhlmann closes Dutch transaction
German steel trading company Buhlmann has extended its footprint in the Benelux with the acquisition of boutique Dutch counterpart Hellebeuk.
Founded in 1945, Buhlmann has since grown into one of the largest steel distributors and traders in the world, with a warehouse capacity of around 55,000 tonnes. The company provides among others steel pipes, steeltubes, pipe-fittings and accessories to clients in steel-intensive industries including energy, chemicals, oil and gas, offshore, shipbuilding and mechanical engineering.
The addition of Hellebeuk provides the German industrial company with a stronger foothold in the Dutch market, and adds a 12-strong team to its headcount. “Hellebeuk fits perfectly into our group of companies,” said Christian Baum, Managing Director and Chief Technical Officer at Buhlmann.
“The high delivery availability and fast response times as well as the high quality and service standards are a perfect match for our service portfolio,” he added.
Founded in 1963, Hellebeuk is a trading company for round, square and rectangular pipes, butt weld, threaded, and press fittings, valves, flanges and other accessories. The family-owned business has an operation in Valkenburg aan de Geul (close to Maastricht) and a sales office in Tiel, and supplies to customers across Europe including in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Hungary and Italy.
Despite the current uncertain economic environment against the Coronacrisis backdrop, which is seeing many companies postpone their merger & acquisitions endeavours, Buhlmann and Hellebeuk decided to close the deal in a move that they believe demonstrates their long term belief in the deal synergies. “We are looking forward to the cooperation,” said Baum.
The deal was advised on by M&A consultants from Aeternus Corporate Finance, which advised the shareholders of the Dutch seller. The buy-side financial advisor was at the time of writing unknown.
Other subsidiaries of Buhlmann are Dylan Steel Solutions in the Netherlands, Belgium and Great Britain, Buhlmann project Solutions in Germany, and Buhlmann Industrie Technik in Germany.
In related M&A news in the Netherlands, Dutch group Losberger De Boer last week sold Walter Piscine to LPW Corporate, in a deal advised on by M&A consultants form BOLD Corporate Finance.
