Proventis Partners acted as exclusive M&A advisor to Testrut (DE) GmbH and Testrut Service GmbH during the insolvency for the sale of the company to Link H.K. Ltd.

Hamburg, 29. 10. 2019

Proventis Partners advised Testrut (DE) GmbH and Testrut Service GmbH on sale to Link H.K. Ltd.

The transaction

Hong Kong-based Link H.K. Ltd. has acquired a majority shareholding in Testrut (DE) GmbH as well as associated foreign subsidiaries of Testrut Service GmbH. The corresponding insolvency plan was accepted by the creditors of Testrut (DE) GmbH without any dissenting votes. In addition to satisfying the creditors, the insolvency plan provided for further financing of the operative business.

Together with Link H.K. Ltd., the Testrut Group intends to expand existing competencies in the Group’s indoor and outdoor product ranges. In the medium term it is planned to establish a transparent end-to-end supply chain between Asia and Europe.

“From our perspective, Link H.K. Ltd. is the ideal investor, as there is a common understanding of the business, the development potential of our industry and potential business models. But first and foremost, a strong mutual trust has driven our thinking”, says Robert Testrut.

The role of Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners accompanied the shareholders and the management of the Testrut Group in coordination with the general representative during the entire M&A process. The services included the preparation of all transaction documentation, the identification and approach of suitable investors, the coordination of due diligence and the commercial negotiation of the transaction.

About Testrut Group

Testrut Group is an international trading company with over 80 years of tradition that trades in non-food categories around home and garden, marketing its products to both stationary and online retailers. Testrut develops consumer goods/product ranges for specialist retailers and retailers in the indoor categories household goods as well as bathroom and sanitary ware. In the outdoor categories, Testrut Group concentrates on garden supplies, decoration and ambience, leisure and garden furniture, oven accessories and winches as well as barbecues and BBQs.

The management of Robert Testrut GmbH & Co. KG, Testrut (DE) GmbH and Testrut Service GmbH filed applications for the opening of insolvency proceedings under their own administration at the responsible local court in Duisburg on 28 August 2018. This was triggered by the liquidity bottleneck in a sister company of Testrut (DE) GmbH, which was triggered by a well-known customer from the discount sector and affected the entire group of companies. The proceedings were opened on 1 November 2018 and Dr Andreas Ropke of the law firm hrm, Henneke Répke Rechtsanwélte, was appointed administrator.

About Link H.K. Ltd.

Link H.K. Ltd. based in Hong Kong is a trade-oriented service company specialising in the role of procurement agent. Beyond that Link H.K. Ltd. offers added value services such as quality management and logistics as well as financial services. For the operational business, Testrut acquisition will result in considerable joint synergy potential, especially in the areas of supply chain management and financing.

About Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners is a partner-managed M&A advisory firm whose clients include mainly corporate groups, medium-sized family businesses and private equity funds. With 30 professionals, Proventis Partners is active in the sectors Industrials, Business Services, Consumer & Retail, TMT, Healthcare and Energy and covers the German-speaking region with offices in Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Zurich. Through its exclusive membership in Mergers Alliance – the international partnership of leading M&A specialists – Proventis Partners offers local market coverage in the 30 most important economies globally. The 20 members of the Mergers Alliance, with more than 200 M&A professionals, offer Proventis Partners and our clients unique access to local markets in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa