Proventis Partners advised Customs Support Group

Hamburg, 03. August 2023 – Customs Support Group B.V. acquires Rusak Business Services, one of the market leading customs agencies in Poland. Proventis Partners in cooperation with its Polish Mergers Alliance partner IPOPEMA Securities advises Customs Support Group on the acquisition of Rusak Business Services.

The transaction

Customs Support Group (“Customs Support”) is proud to announce that it has expanded its presence in Poland and the United Kingdom through the acquisition of a leading Polish customs broker – Rusak Business Services (“Rusak”).

This transaction will significantly increase Customs Support’s service range in both countries, providing clients with broader access to modern customs services focused on efficiency, digitalization, and automation solutions. Customs Support consequently realises its buy-and-build strategy emphasising the focus on international growth and expansion within the customs services sector. The key intention behind the acquisition is to provide further added value to the existing client base of Customs Support and Rusak while maintaining existing skilled management and employees and supporting further growth of all stakeholders of both businesses.

“We are delighted to have Rusak join the Customs Support Group, which will expand our reach across both Poland and the UK, allowing us to provide even better services to our clients. We are committed to provide international quality of services and to embed our digital approach in both Poland and the UK. Together with Tomasz Rusak and the Polish team members we will continue to grow the quality and scope of services for our clients.” – Frank Weermeijer, CEO of Customs Support Group

“I believe joining Europe’s Nr 1 neutral customs service provider is the beginning of a new, promising chapter for us. I am convinced that this transaction will create new opportunities for growth and value among Customs Support and Rusak’s clients and employees. I can see new opportunities for international and local growth on both sides of the transaction. We are confident that joining Customs Support Group will enable our clients to access the European customs services network, while offering even more customs expertise and focus on digitalisation and automation.” – Tomasz Rusak – CEO Rusak.

The role of Proventis Partners and IPOPEMA Securities

Proventis Partners has supported Customs Support as exclusive M&A advisor in the expansion in the DACH-region for many years. In cooperation with the Mergers Alliance Partner IPOPEMA Securites, Proventis Partners, in addition to identifying the customs agency and contacting the shareholders, carried out the strategic analysis of the target company and accompanied the further transaction process from due diligence to commercial negotiations and successful closing.

About Rusak Business Services

Founded in 1990 Rusak is an experienced and reliable partner in the customs sector. Rusak has built a nationwide network of offices in Poland, developed a team of expert personnel, and created an innovative business structure. To keep ahead of the competition Rusak operates with an innovative workflow system, supporting its clients and customs agents in the implementation of customs services. As a result of continuous growth and value-added services Rusak currently employs almost 200 people. Its activities are spread across more than 20 locations throughout Poland, including several offices in Warsaw and surrounding agglomeration, Łódź, Kraków, Upper Silesia, the Basin, Lower Silesia, Białystok as well as branches at the main Polish seaports in Gdańsk and Gdynia and the key airports in Warsaw and Wrocław. Furthermore, Rusak maintains border offices in Świecko, Dorohusk and Korczowa.

Rusak, as a Polish market leader, is recognised for their expert customs knowledge as well as dedicated solutions and flexibility towards their clients. For over 30 years of market presence, Rusak has proven to a broad range of clients their capacity to design efficient and compliant customs processes.

About Customs Support Group

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Customs Support Group is Europe’s leading independent, digital and neutral provider of customs services employing near 2,000 dedicated customs professionals serving over 30,000 customers annually. Through our extensive service offering and digital capability, we consistently support our customers in maximising regulatory compliance, achieving operational efficiencies, import duty optimisation, duty planning, and ongoing development for a constantly shifting customs landscape.

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

The portfolio company of Castik Capital is currently active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Spain. In Europe, Customs Support Group serves many cross-border clients in several industries such as automotive, food and beverage, manufacturing and many more. Customs Support is the number one in digital customs and invests substantially in the digitalisation of the customs processes.

About Castik Capital

Castik Capital S.à r.l. (“Castik Capital”) manages investments in private equity. Castik Capital is a European Private Equity firm, acquiring significant ownership positions in European private and public companies, where longterm value can be generated through active partnerships with management teams.

Founded in 2014, Castik Capital is based in Luxembourg and focuses on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. Investments are made by the Luxembourg-based fund, EPIC II SLP. The advisor to 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 advisory firm whose clients are mainly medium-sized family-owned companies, group subsidiaries as well as private equity funds. With more than 40 M&A advisors, Proventis Partners is one of the largest independent M&A advisory firms in the German-speaking region and looks back on more than 20 years of M&A experience and over 400 completed transactions. With offices in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Zurich, the M&A advisors are active in the Industrials, Chemicals, Business Services, Consumer & Retail, Healthcare, and IT & Media sectors. The 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 Mergers Alliance members with their more than 250 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.

About IPOPEMA Securities

IPOPEMA Securities is the leading financial institution in Poland, offering comprehensive services to its clients, including public offerings, M&A deals, bond deals, financial restructuring and private equity financing. The company has one of the most experienced and successful investment banking teams in Poland, which conducted over 120 transactions with total value of around EUR 8 billion. IPOPEMA Securites has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2009.