Industri Kapital acquires Sport Group from ECM

Industri Kapital has signed an agreement with funds advised by ECM to acquire Sport Group, a leading European provider of outdoor sport and recreational surface systems. The Group has three main product groups; artificial turf, tracks and playgrounds, and is the market leader in Germany with a strong position in its market segment across Europe.

Head-quartered in Germany, Sport Group has over 550 employees. The company generated sales of approximately €130 m in 2005. The business benefits from a strong market position, especially in Germany and the rest of Europe, and has an excellent technological basis and superior product offering, allowing it to benefit from good margins. The market for sports’ surfaces is attractive thanks to high growth rates and as normal for maturing markets, consolidation is expected in the mid-term. Sport Group’s primary goal is to continue to grow the business internationally and to become the overall market leader in Europe, through implementing an active consolidation strategy. Sport Group’s main product is artificial turf which is sold under the “Polytan” brand and is used for a variety of surfaces including football pitches, tennis courts and hockey grounds. Artificial turf is sold mainly to municipalities, general contractors and sports clubs and offers much lower life-cycle costs than natural turf. Artificial turf, and in particular its third generation product, is sold in a young market with enormous untapped potential. Of the approximately 54,000 sport fields in Germany, for example, only 4.3% are currently artificial turf fields. Sport Group’s third generation artificial turf has a very strong market share in the German artificial turf market segment. It is approved by international football associations such as FIFA and UEFA for professional football. Sport Group installs tracks (both running tracks and multi-purpose surfaces) and artificial turf fields and manufactures all system critical components in-house. Detlef Dinsel, Partner, Industri Kapital said “We are delighted to have acquired Sport Group and we are looking forward to working with the management team in developing this new and growing market further. Sport Group benefits from a good market position and strong technology. The market for sports’ surfaces is rapidly growing and we look forward to together with management continue to grow the business and take part in the anticipated industry consolidation.” Richard Gritsch, Partner, ECM said “We have greatly enjoyed working with the Sport Group management team over the last few years. We are confident that the business is well positioned for future growth under the ownership of Industri Kapital.” Sebastian Karrer, CEO Polytan Group and Sport Group “We have enjoyed working with ECM over the past few years and look forward to working with Industri Kapital as we grow the business further. Our plan is to improve our already strong market position and to continue to provide our clients with leading products and services.” The transaction is subject to customary merger control approvals. Contacts: Sport Group Sebastian Karrer, CEO Phone +49 84 32 87 0 ECM Richard Gritsch, Partner Phone: +49 69 97102 0 Industri Kapital Detlef Dinsel, Partner Phone: +49 40 369 885 15 Anne Holm Rannaleet, Partner & Information Director Phone: +46 8 678 9550