• Financing

FEUER powertrain Reorganisation of Financing Structure via Club Deal and Private Placement

The Company

The FEUER powertrain Group ("FPT"), headquartered in Nordhausen (Thuringia), is a leading global independent manufacturer of crankshafts for passenger car, truck, agricultural machinery and industrial engines, as well as the segments of leisure vehicles (ATVs, motorbikes, jet skis, sport boats, etc.) and compressors. Although much of the current business is based on internal combustion engine applications, there are still growth opportunities for FPT from an accelerated outsourcing trend and the further diversification of activities. 

FEUER powertrain currently operates several highly automated, flexible production lines at its headquarters in Nordhausen. In addition, the construction of a new location with complete plant infrastructure in the USA is planned.

The Transaction

To finance the upcoming growth steps both in Germany and the USA, FPT has significantly expanded its financing structure and sustainably reorganised it overall. The main pillar of the new financing structure is a new syndicated loan with a total volume of EUR 126 million over a total of five tranches. 

The new syndicated financing is supplemented by a long-term private placement with a volume of EUR 20 million with the investment subsidiary of a US insurance group. 

The funds raised through both transactions will be used to finance the planned investments in Germany and the USA, the working capital at both locations as well as the refinancing of selected syndicated and non-consyndicated financial liabilities.

Scope of Mandate

ARGONAS acted as FPT's exclusive debt advisor during the financing process, advising and supporting FPT on all aspects of the overall concept and individual transactions, including the negotiation of the transaction documents.

Christian Berkhoff

Managing Partner/Co-Founder

Christian Berkhoff is Managing Partner at ARGONAS und has more than 20 years of experience in Corporate Finance Advisory und Investment Banking. 

At ARGONAS, Christian leads M&A and financing projects across a broad spectrum of industries, sectors and company situations. Christian’s focus areas are businesses in the Industrial & Automotive and Business Services space as well as complex financing solutions and M&A situations. 

Selected transaction references comprise inter alia the sale of the Siemens subsidiary Symeo to US-listed Analog Devices, the sale of Tecno Plast to Swedish Indutrade Group in the context of a succession solution, the carve-out and sale of a business segment for the international Auria Solutions Group as well as multiple financing and M&A projects for Feuer powertrain. 

Prior to co-founding ARGONAS, Christian inter alia worked for J.P. Morgan in London and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Frankfurt, where he predominantly advised multinational corporations and large midmarket companies on structured debt and hybrid capital solutions.

Christian holds a degree in business administration from Goethe-University Frankfurt and a Masters in Finance degree from London Business School.