The Initial Situation
KUMM had carved out an excellent market position as the sole “full liner” throughout Europe among manufacturers of slurry technology. Increasing regulation and the uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic, which was only just behind them, led both founding shareholders and directors to consider selling their company in 2022. Michael Kumm and Heinz Schepergerdes contacted the team at Syntra (formerly sonntag) and formulated their sales objectives: Both entrepreneurs wanted to remain part of the management, to retain a portion of their shares and to grow the company over the year ahead.
Company Sale to Rieker
Syntra looked for a suitable buyer and found it in Rieker Investment. The company is part of the Rieker Finance Group, part of the family-managed Rieker Group. This company is primarily known for the shoe brand of the same name. As an investor, Rieker has an intersectoral focus on long-term participations in established mid-sized companies with strong growth potential. Part of Rieker’s strategy is also the independent operational continuation of the participations through their existing management. KUMM met both criteria. Thanks to its strong market position, the company had the opportunity to continue to lead the way in the future and to respond to increasing regulatory requirements with innovative products and continued growth.
Driving New Growth
With the arrival of Rieker, KUMM brought an experienced and financially sound investor on board. The new majority shareholder has continued the company’s growth trajectory and pushed ahead with the expansion of its product development, as well as the internationalization of its business activities. To the delight and satisfaction of the sellers: “We are looking forward to our collaboration with Rieker in the years ahead. In addition to continued investments in our products’ developments, we also want to develop new markets both within and outside Europe – initially primarily with a focus on France and the UK. We need a strong and, most of all, experienced, partner for this – which is what we found with Rieker,” says Michael Kumm, Director and shareholder of KUMM.
“How does due diligence run and how do we find the right contract design? With Syntra (formerly sonntag) we had a point of contact by our side who clearly answered all our questions and transmitted them between us and the attorneys and audit teams. They were pragmatic and had a keen sense of our concerns. Syntra guided us skillfully through the process.”
Michael Kumm
Director and Shareholder
KUMM Technik GmbH