Brockhaus joins Bikeleasing

cyclist

Brockhaus acquires 52 percent of the company bike specialist.

(Photo: dpa)

Frankfurt Brockhaus Technologies AG has taken over the majority in BLS Bikeleasing-Service GmbH & Co. KG from Vellmar. Bikeleasing, founded in 2015, is one of the leading digital platforms for brokering and managing B2B leasing contracts after competitor Jobrad.

According to its own information, Bikeleasing enables more than 30,000 German medium-sized companies to offer their 1.6 million employees company bike leasing via its platform. The company bike is an incentive for employees and promotes health at the same time, says Marco Brockhaus, CEO of the Frankfurt-based subsidiary of the same name, to the Handelsblatt.

Brockhaus acquires 52 percent of the company bike specialist, which generates profits and has an enterprise value of 300 million euros. As part of the transaction, the founders Bastian Krause and Paul Sinizin will retain a significant 40 percent stake in Bikeleasing. You will continue to lead the company operationally in the future.

The digital platform with its customer base will enable employees to finance other benefits in addition to the company bike, says Brockhaus. For Brockhaus Technologies, the acquisition is the third majority stake after the acquisition of the sensor specialist Palas and the IT security company IHSE.

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The business climate in the German private equity market recently stagnated after leaving the corona blues behind in the middle of the year, says Fritzi Köhler-Geib, chief economist at KfW. The market gives the impression that the industry is currently on hold and is paying attention to what signals are coming from medium-sized companies, according to the industry association BVK.

The effects of the fourth corona wave are still unclear

After private equity has proven to be an anchor of stability since the beginning of the crisis, it is now once again becoming a growth engine and innovation driver for companies, explained Ulrike Hinrichs, managing director of the BVK.

However, it is still unclear how the new corona wave will affect. A study by the management consultancy FTI-Andersch and the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, which has dealt with the consequences so far, provided clues. After that, the corona crisis ensures, among other things, that the holding period of the companies in the portfolios of the investment managers is extended.

The purchase prices for European medium-sized companies fell slightly on average in the third quarter of 2021. According to the “Argos Index Mid-Market”, so-called multiples of eleven times the operating profit (Ebitda) were paid; in the second quarter it was 11.3 times.

However, market participants also report reviews for software companies that call for twenty times the operating result. “After a steady increase in the multiples from mid-2020, the index shows a decline for the first time,” says Frank Hermann, Managing Partner of Argos Wityu. Nevertheless, the market is still very active. Some debt financiers and advisors are fully booked, which speaks for a strong fourth quarter in the M&A market.

More: The new generation of locusts: The flood of big money is forcing private equity firms to change

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