Practica Capital exit: Würth Group will acquire 100% of Gaudrė shares
The shareholders of Gaudrė UAB and Elektrobalt UAB (a member of Würth Electrical Wholesale Group, which is a subsidiary of the Würth Group) have signed a share purchase agreement according to which Elektrobalt will acquire 100% of Gaudrė shares. The completion of this acquisition is planned at the beginning of 2018, subject to the approval from the competition authorities.
Gaudrė and Elektrobalt, both based in Vilnius, Lithuania, confirm that they are in an advanced stage of joining forces. Vladislavas Mickevičius, CEO and one out of three shareholders of Gaudrė, explains: “A co-operation with Elektrobalt and Würth Electrical Wholesale Companies outside Lithuania would offer tremendous growth potential for Gaudrė”. Darius Raila, CEO of Elektrobalt emphasises: “Elektrobalt will benefit from the superior lighting competence of Gaudrė, thus completing the broad technical competence which Elektrobalt offers its customers. “Quickly expanding the geographical market reach of Gaudrė into the neighbouring Baltic countries will almost immediately benefit both Gaudrė as well as our companies in Latvia and Estonia” adds Algimantas Andriusis, overseeing the activities of the Würth Electrical Wholesale Group in the Baltic region.
From a business perspective, no changes other than exploring additional growth opportunities are planned. Gaudrė will seamlessly continue its current operations.
Ulrich Liedtke, Executive Vice President of the Würth Group and responsible for the Electrical Wholesale Group (W.EG) in Central and Eastern Europe comments: “Based on its strong appreciation of local entrepreneurship, Würth Electrical Wholesale Group is comprised of companies which are strong regional or national players. In this tradition, Gaudre will continue its operations while enjoying the benefit to draw on central resources and join hands for co-operation with the existing W.EG companies in the respective countries”.
Petras Mičiūnas, a partner at Practica Capital, which is the financial investor in Gaudrė, relates: “Gaudrė is the first major exit from Practica's 2012 vintage funds. We had a very fruitful ride with Gaudrė’s team for the last four years and we are particularly happy that it found a solid place in the business portfolio of such an iconic family business like Würth Group”.
Gaudrė UAB, based in Vilnius, is a leading company in the field of Lighting Solutions. Based on its strong technical and architectural competence, Gaudrė offers a wide portfolio of consultancy, lighting systems and products to its customers. This includes tailor made solutions.
Elektrobalt UAB is a member of the Würth Group and represents Würth’s Electrical Wholesale Group in Lithuania. Serving customers in the residential, infrastructure and industrial markets, Elektrobalt offers a broad range of electrical products, services and consultancy. It covers the Lithuanian market through seven outlets backed up by a central warehouse. Elektrobalt holds a leading position in the Lithuanian market and together with W.EG. Eesti in Estonia and Baltikelektro in Latvia represents Würth Electrical Wholesale Group in the Baltic States.
Würth Electrical Wholesale Group, a subsidiary of the Würth Group, is a leading electrical wholesaler concentrating on the continental European market. In 2016, the electrical wholesaling business contributed more than EUR 1.3 billion in sales to the overall sales of EUR 11.8 billion of the Würth Group. Preliminary figures of the Electrical Wholesale Group indicate for the first half of 2017 again a strong growth, even reaching a two-digit percentage range.
Practica Capital is a venture capital (VC) firm investing in Baltic early stage ventures and high growth SMEs, which have an ambition to become regional, international, global players or target leading position in their national markets. Practica Capital manages €8M seed and €16M venture capital funds under the JEREMIE initiative in Lithuania, which is administered by the European Investment Fund (EIF), Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance and funded from the EU Structural Funds under 2007-2013 Economic Growth Operational Programme of Lithuania.
For news in Lithuanian visit: https://www.vz.lt/informacines-technologijos-telekomunikacijos/2018/01/11/gaudre-perka-vokieciu-milzine-wurth
