Rautenberg & Company advises Osaka-based Sekisui Jushi Co. Ltd. on the acquisition of WEMAS Group.

Our team advised Sekisui Jushi Co. Ltd. (“SJC”) on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in WEMAS TopCo GmbH and all its group entities (“WEMAS Group”) including WEMAS Absperrtechnik, in cooperation with Tokyo-based Development Bank of Japan Inc. (“DBJ”). The transaction was signed on December 08, 2023 and will be closed in the first days of January 2024.

Sekisui Jushi Co. Ltd., a Japanese corporate listed at the Tokyo Stock Exchange [TYO:4212], is a leading manufacturer of permanent road safety equipment as well as other fencing, barrier and plastic material solutions in Japan and beyond. As one result of its continued effort to expand the traffic safety segment overseas, SJC identified WEMAS Group as a leading European expert of temporary traffic management solutions and thus an ideal strategic acquisition.

WEMAS Group is the unmatched market and quality leader for temporary traffic management solutions in Germany and continuously expands its presence across Europe. The group has experienced significant growth while further strengthening its market position in recent years and particularly under the leadership of its private equity owners. With a team of over 130 employees, WEMAS Group operates two state-of-the-art manufacturing sites in Germany for the production of value-added equipment, using recycled plastic as main input.

Paragon Partners & GIMV
In 2017, German Paragon Partners and Belgian GIMV had teamed up in a private equity consortium to co-invest into WEMAS Group in a secondary buy-out from the prior private equity owner.

As part of our integrated approach, the Rautenberg & Company team introduced SJC in the auction process and supported SJC comprehensively as lead M&A and commercial advisor throughout the entire acquisition process up to its successful signing, in close cooperation with the Development Bank of Japan.