Proventis Partners advised Customs Support Group on the acquisition of WZC Riemann and DCLARE

Hamburg, September 15, 2021 – Customs Support Group B.V., one of Europe’s leading neutral customs agent, acquired WZC Wagenladungs- und Zolldeclarations Comptoir Riemann GmbH & Co. KG (“WZC Riemann“) and DCLARE Customs Service GmbH (“DCLARE”), strengthening its market position and management team in Germany.

About the transaction

Customs Support, the neutral and dynamic partner for customs matters in Europe, acquired WZC Riemann and DCLARE Customs Service. With this acquisition, Customs Support strengthens the presence in Germany and underpins the ambition to support clients with import, export and transit in close proximity to its clients. Friederike Engelken, managing partner of WZC Riemann will join the management board in Germany and supports the future growth plans of the group.

“As a family-run business committed to providing excellent customer service and implementing a ‘single point of contact’ policy we felt at home straight away from the first meeting with Customs Support. We are looking forward to joining forces!”, says Friederike Engelken, Managing Partner WZC Riemann.

Frank Weermeijer, CEO of Customs Support, adds: “WZC and their team are a perfect addition for Customs Support in Germany and the Netherlands and we are looking forward to working together to bring the best value to our customers. This is another important step in our ambition to becoming the leading European customs broker through organic and M&A growth.”

The role of Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners has supported Customs Support as exclusive M&A advisor in the expansion in Germany for several years now. The acquisition of WZC Riemann and DCLARE is the fifth successful acquisition and further transactions are to follow. In addition to identifying the customs agency and contacting its shareholders, Proventis Partners carried out the strategic analysis of the target company and guided the further transaction process from due diligence and commercial negotiation to the successful execution. The Proventis Partners transaction team: Timo Stahlbuhk (Director, Hamburg) and Philipp Silberzahn (Associate, Hamburg).

About WZC Riemann and DCLARE

As a family business with over 140 years of customs experience, WZC Riemann in Hamburg, Germany is known for its exceptional service, flexibility and state-of-the-art digital communication. Since 2009 the company is fully AEO certified. The company has proven that a family business can add value with long-term customer advice and tailored support to individual needs. Especially for these reasons the company is a good fit with Customs Support. WZC’s managing director Friederike Engelken will join the Management Board of Customs Support in Germany. For more information, please visit www.wzc-zoll.de/en and www.dclare.com.

About Customs Support

Customs Support is the neutral and dynamic partner for customs matters in Europe. A fast-growing company that stands for knowledge, speed and efficient and digital customs solutions. Every day, more than 750 customs specialists and 100 Brexit experts are ready to take care of customs matters for a vast range of companies. With many offices at logistic hotspots throughout Europe, the company can offer customers a broad geographical coverage. For more information, please visit www.customssupport.com. Since December 2020, the company is backed by Private Equity Investor Castik Capital.

About Castik Capital

Founded in 2014, Castik Capital focuses on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. The investments are made by the Luxembourg based EPIC funds. The first fund, EPIC I, has a volume of €1 billion and was raised in 2014/2015. The second fund, EPIC II, had its final close in October 2020 and a volume of €1.25 billion.

The Castik employees have extensive knowledge and experience in the Private Equity markets, with a team that has been actively investing in transactions for over 25 years. The advisor to Castik Capital is Castik Capital Partners GmbH, based in Munich. For more information about Castik Capital, please visit www.castik.com.

About Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners is a partner-managed M&A advisory firm whose clients include a majority of medium-sized family-owned companies, group subsidiaries as well as private equity funds. With more than 30 M&A advisors, Proventis Partners is one of the largest independent M&A advisors in the German-speaking region and looks back on 20 years of M&A experience and more than 300 completed transactions. The M&A consultants with offices in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Zurich are active in the sectors Industrials & Chemicals, Business Services, Consumer & Retail, TMT, Healthcare and Energy & Sustainability. The exclusive membership in Mergers Alliance – an international partnership of leading M&A specialists – enables Proventis Partners to support clients in 30 countries in the most important markets worldwide. The members of Mergers Alliance, with over 200 M&A professionals, provide Proventis Partners and thus its clients with unique access to local markets in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa.