Proventis Partners advised the Customs Support Group

Hamburg, September 28, 2023 – Proventis Partners is supporting the Customs Support Group in the acquisition of Zollimpex AG. Customs Support strengthens its presence in Switzerland with the integration of Zollimpex AG.

The Transaction

Customs Support, a leading provider of customs services, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Zollimpex. Zollimpex is part of BKM Customs and Consulting AG (BKM), a customs broker and consulting company based in Switzerland. The acquisition of Zollimpex is part of Customs Support’s strategy to strengthen its presence in Switzerland.

By adding Zollimpex to its network, Customs Support is positioning itself at strategically central locations in Switzerland and thus also expanding its operational reach in France, Germany and Italy. This strategic move will significantly expand Customs Support’s service portfolio in Switzerland and offer customers an expanded range of modern customs services with a focus on efficiency, digitalization and automation solutions. This fits seamlessly into Customs Support’s comprehensive buy-and-build strategy, which is primarily focused on international expansion in the customs services sector. The main objective of this acquisition is to provide even greater value to Customs Support and Zollimpex’s existing customer base, while retaining the current qualified management and workforce and driving further growth for all stakeholders of both organizations.

“We are very pleased to be able to expand and strengthen our presence in Switzerland with the takeover of Zollimpex. With the quality of services it offers its customers, Zollimpex is an excellent fit for Customs Support. This acquisition will enable us to better serve our customers in the region and offer them the best digital customs services. Together we open up new horizons for our customers and continue to advocate for professional, reliable and digital customs clearance on neutral ground.” – Frank Weermeijer – CEO Customs Support.

“The transition from Zollimpex to Customs Support, the number 1 digital customs partner, opens up new opportunities for our customers and our team. Working with Customs Support allows Zollimpex to strengthen its commitment to providing exceptional customs solutions. With the strategic locations in Switzerland, Zollimpex expands its reach as part of a comprehensive network to streamline, digitize and automate customs services.” – Florian Brecher – BKM Customs & Consulting AG.

Customs Support is committed to providing the best possible service to its customers and the acquisition of Zollimpex is a testament to this commitment. With the acquisition of Zollimpex, Customs Support is now even better positioned to serve its customers in Switzerland and the surrounding regions.

The Role of Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners has been accompanying Customs Support as an exclusive M&A advisor in its expansion in the DACH region for years. In addition to identifying the customs agency and contacting the shareholders, Proventis Partners carried out the strategic analysis of the target company and accompanied the further transaction process from due diligence through commercial negotiations to successful completion. The Proventis Partners transaction team consisted of Jost Hartmann (Partner, Hamburg), Dr. Leonhard Austmann (Associate, Hamburg) and Leon Holtmann (Associate, Hamburg).

About Zollimpex

Zollimpex, founded in 1974 and owned by BKM Customs and Consulting AG since 2019, is a neutral partner in customs matters with strategic locations in Switzerland and Germany. Zollimpex employs 15 people in 5 offices at the borders in Pratteln (HQ), Rheinfelden, St. Louis and on the Basel-Weil Autobahn (DE and CH). The company has set itself the goal of offering its customers in the Basel region and throughout Switzerland a central point of contact. In this sense, Zollimpex offers import, export and consulting services.

The Zollimpex team has proven itself over the years to be professional, reliable and competent when it comes to ensuring fast customs clearance. They have opened the borders for their customers, created customs documents for all types of goods and offered their customers a unique service based on many years of expertise and state-of-the-art data processing. All of this happens on a neutral basis, as Zollimpex does not transport the goods, but only carries out customs clearance.

About Customs Support Group

The Customs Support Group, headquartered in the Netherlands, is Europe’s leading independent, digital and neutral provider of customs services and employs around 2,000 dedicated customs experts who support over 30,000 customers annually. Our extensive range of services and digital capabilities help our customers maximize compliance, increase operational efficiency, optimize import duties, plan for customs duties and evolve in an ever-changing customs landscape.

In addition to traditional brokerage and digital services, Customs Support Group also offers customs advisory and gas measurement services.

The company operates in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Spain. In Europe, Customs Support Group serves many cross-border customers in diverse industries such as automotive, food and beverage, and manufacturing. Customs Support is number one in digital customs and invests significantly in the digitalization of customs processes.

Über Castik Capital

Castik Capital S.à r.l. (“Castik Capital”) manages private equity investments and, as a European private equity firm, acquires significant investments in European private and listed companies. This means that long-term value can be created through active partnerships with management teams. Castik Capital was founded in 2014 and is based in Luxembourg. The focus is on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. The investments are made by the Luxembourg-based fund EPIC II SLP. The advisor of Castik Capital S.à r.l. is Castik Capital Partners GmbH based in Munich.

About Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners is a partner-led M&A consultancy whose customers predominantly include medium-sized family businesses, corporate subsidiaries and private equity funds. With 40 M&A advisors, Proventis Partners is one of the largest independent M&A advisors in German-speaking countries and looks back on more than 20 years of M&A experience and over 400 completed transactions. The M&A advisors with offices in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Zurich are active in the industrials, chemicals, business services, consumer & retail, healthcare and IT & media sectors. Exclusive membership in the 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 the Mergers Alliance with their more than 250 M&A professionals offer Proventis Partners and thus its customers unique access to local markets in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa.