China’s Truking Group is set to become the new owner of the Romaco Group. The relevant contracts were signed on 2nd May 2017 by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG and the Truking Group.

On 2nd May 2017, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) sold 75.1 percent of its shares in the Romaco Group to the Chinese Truking Group (Truking), a highly successful engineering company which is majority owned by its founder and has already floated part of its shares on the stock market. The remaining shares of DBAG will be sold over the next three years. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approval.

DBAG, a German private equity firmed based in Frankfurt am Main, acquired the Romaco Group from the listed US company Robbins & Myers, Inc. in April 2011. During the period as a DBAG portfolio company, the Romaco Group increased its annual sales by just under 50 percent to 134.3 million euros in the 2016 fiscal year. Four major transactions were successfully completed in the 2011 to 2017 period. These include the strategic purchases of Romaco Kilian GmbH and Romaco Innojet GmbH, the integration of Medipac AB in Romaco Siebler and the sale of Romaco subsidiary FrymaKoruma. With the support of DBAG, the Romaco Group also opened five Sales and Service Centres in China, France, Russia, Brazil and the USA. As a DBAG portfolio company, the Romaco Group has developed to become the leading provider of packaging and processing technologies for the pharmaceuticals industry. DBAG has thus successfully met the objectives set by its shareholders and is now ending its holding in the Romaco Group after six years.

DBAG board member Dr. Rolf Scheffels commented: “The sale successfully implements a buy and build concept which we had worked out with management at the very beginning of our involvement. DBAG, in its role as a Romaco Group shareholder, played a key part in supporting the strategic development of the corporate group and made a decisive contribution to strengthening Romaco’s worldwide position. In Truking we have found a buyer that wants to invest in the Group’s global expansion and to further enhance Romaco’s pharmaceutical profile.”

Truking was founded in the year 2000 and currently has a workforce of around 2,600. Truking manufactures plant and equipment for the pharmaceuticals industry and generated annual sales of around 154 million euros in 2016. Truking’s core competencies lie in technologies for the processing and filling of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceutical liquids. Truking’s portfolio fits squarely with Romaco’s focus on the production and packaging of pharmaceutical solids.

Yue Tang, Chairman of Truking, emphasised: “We are confident that the acquisition of Romaco represents a win-win situation for all the parties concerned. Romaco will benefit from the change in ownership through an increased share of the Chinese market and Truking will also be able to exploit outstanding opportunities for growth on European and transatlantic markets.”

Paulo Alexandre, Romaco Group CEO, said: “We have held very positive talks with the new owners regarding the future of the Romaco Group and we are confident that Truking is the right partner to pursue our Group’s internal and external growth. The product portfolio and the regional strengths of both companies complement each other very well without any overlapping. There are also very attractive growth opportunities for Romaco in China.” “Romaco will continue to have a completely free hand to pursue its business objectives. This autonomy includes the entire value chain, from product development through to customer service. Work will simultaneously continue on developing the importance of the Romaco Group’s recognised global brands. Investments will be targeted to strengthening the future of Romaco’s four production locations in Germany and Italy alongside its worldwide Sales and Service Centres.”