In a year of somewhat decreasing midmarket deal volume, Clairfield International has ranked in the top 10 of advisory firms in Europe according to the league table rankings compiled by Refinitiv. Clairfield’s French, German, Nordic, and Eastern European teams also ranked in the top ten while all our other worldwide locations achieved notable rankings in the top 20. These numbers are all the more impressive for showing Clairfield alongside multinational banking giants.

Building on our impressive track record from previous years, Clairfield closed many landmark transactions in 2019, serving on both the buy side for corporates, PE-backed, and publicly quoted industry leaders, and on the sell side for family businesses and local champions. Notable transactions closed in 2019 include many crossborder deals:

• JOST Werke AG, the global market leader in safety critical solutions for commercial vehicles, acquired Ålö AB, one of the world’s leading suppliers for the agricultural machinery industry, from Altor Fund III. This transaction highlights Clairfield’s seamless crossborder execution capabilities and corporate acquisition know-how. Other notable crossborder acquisitions for public companies include GB Group’s (LON: GBG) acquisition of IDology for USD 300 million, and Nets Group’s strategic alliance with Przelewy24 in the fintech industry. The acquisition by the French Sterimed, backed by Meeschaert, of the Mexican Grupo EEE in medical packaging is a prime example of work on behalf of private equity add-ons.
• Vossloh AG, the listed German railtech group, signed a contract for the sale of its locomotives business unit to CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd., Zhuzhou, China, a subsidiary of the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd., the largest rolling stock manufacturer in the world.
• Zambon, an Italian pharmaceutical multinational, acquired the biotech Breath Therapeutics at an initial price of 140 million euros and with the possibility of reaching a total of 500 million euros at the achievement of regulatory and commercial objectives.
• Premier Paper, the second largest paper merchant by sales in the UK with an annual turnover of GBP 233 million, was sold to Japan Pulp and Paper Company Limited, a GBP 4 billion turnover global company which employs 3900 people worldwide.
• Tire distribution companies Gummigrossen i Örnsköldsvik AB and RengasDuo OY, sold a majority stake to Altor Fund IV. Gummigrossen and RengasDuo are the market leaders among the manufacturer-independent tire distributors in Sweden and Finland respectively. The companies have had an impressive growth with a combined turnover of approximately SEK 700 million.
• GSS, a call center company operating across three continents, was sold to Covisian, one of the top Italian companies in outsourcing business processes. Thanks to the deal, GSS will now be integrated with the second largest BPO firm in Italy. The transaction results in a combined staff of over 14,000 employees in 12 countries and allows GSS offer its services throughout Europe while maintaining their interests in high-growth countries.

“Our success in the face of an increasingly complicated market reflects our dedication to achieving the best results for our clients, our hard work, and our execution capability,” said Alex Klemm, executive chairman of Clairfield International. “Disposals of non-core assets for clients large and small, structured buy-sides for corporate and investor groups, as well as private company sales are areas of focus in M&A just as financings, recaps, debt and equity advisory as well as management team advisory. As we celebrate 15 years since our founding, we are pleased that our strong and united team, superior sector know-how, and crossborder service are recognized in the league tables at ever higher levels. Regardless of any headwinds that may come in 2020, we look forward to supporting our clients in all of their strategic considerations.”

See the league tables here: Refinitiv Full Year 2019 Midmarket Review and Refinitiv Full Year 2019 Smallcap Review