Livingstone advises apt Hiller Group on the implementation of a syndicated financing

Livingstone’s Industry sector team in Düsseldorf advised the apt Hiller Group on putting together a new banking consortium and the successful implementation of syndicated financing of EUR 32.5 million. Under the leadership of NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale as Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA) and the largest individual lender, WGZ Bank AG Westdeutsche Genossenschafts-Zentralbank, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG and IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG also participated in the financing in the consortium.

apt manufactures and finishes aluminum profiles at the four locations Monheim (D), Roermond (NL), Eckental (D) and Cheb (CZ), from recycling to extrusion, further mechanical processing to surface finishing and assembly of finished assemblies. apt supplies the market leaders from the construction/architecture and industry segments as well as leading truck and bus manufacturers. The company claims to have around 800 permanent employees. The aluminum profiles are produced in an extrusion process at the Monheim and Roermond sites with an annual capacity of 80,000 tons, while the corner valley and Cheb sites are processed into ready-to-install supplier parts.

The syndicated financing listed by NORD/LB as an MLA not only serves to refinance credit lines in a banking landscape that has grown over time, but above all to finance working capital and growth. The consortium provides funding for up to five years.

After the sale of a majority of the shares to the Chinese SEDANT Group in 2015, which was also advised by Livingstone, the streamlining of the financing structure and the optimization of the credit conditions made sense. The new structure offers the company a financing framework appropriate to the size of the company and the international business model.

Christian Grandin, Partner at Livingstone in Düsseldorf, commented: ” It was a particular pleasure for us to once again be able to advise the company and its shareholders. The international group of companies now has a group-wide financing structure that is adapted to the changed framework conditions after the M&A transaction and the current corporate structure. We were able to successfully implement an attractive overall package for our client in terms of interest rate, credit volume and credit conditions.

For Livingstone, this was the seventh successful Debt Advisory transaction in the last twelve months. In addition, it was the second time within twelve months that Livingstone was able to successfully advise the apt Hiller Group and its shareholders on a transaction.