Financial investor Apax puts manufacturer Toi Toi & Dixi up for sale

Toi Toi toilet

Mobile toilets were not in demand at festivals during the pandemic, but all the more so on construction sites.

(Photo: dpa)

Frankfurt According to financial circles, Toi Toi & Dixi is for sale again almost three years after it was taken over by the financial investor Apax. The UK venture capital firm is preparing an auction process for the portable toilet maker, which could value the company at €1.5 billion to €2 billion – around double what Apax bought in 2019, several people familiar with the matter said.

The sales process should officially start in the coming months. Apax declined to comment and Toi Toi & Dixi could not be reached.

Toi Toi & Dixi sees itself as the world market leader for mobile toilets, which are mainly used on construction sites or major events. Business was also booming during the pandemic and primarily benefited from the strong construction industry, while business at concerts and festivals was weak.

The construction industry reported a record high in residential construction orders in September. For the current year, the industry association expects an increase of seven percent in residential construction and six percent in commercial properties. During the pandemic, Toi Toi & Dixi benefited from the fact that clients often preferred to have mobile toilet blocks set up instead of having craftsmen use existing toilets.

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Toi Toi & Dixi recorded a turnover of 428 million euros in 2020 with the manufacture and rental of toilet blocks. The company expects an operating profit (Ebitda) of 150 million euros this year and could be valued at 10 to 13 times that if sold, people familiar with the matter said.

300,000 toilet cubicles

In total, the company has over 300,000 toilet cubicles, which are brought to their places of use by 1,861 service vehicles. A subsidiary for plastics technology manufactures sanitary technology, but also supplies customers in the automotive and medical technology sectors. A vehicle technology subsidiary produces special commercial vehicles, such as vacuum trucks for waste water and faecal disposal.

Dixi was founded in Essen in 1973 by entrepreneur Fred Edwards, at that time still under the name Port San Ser. When the Pope visited Germany in 1980, the mobile toilets were used for the first time at a major event.

The entrepreneurial couple Helga and Harald Müller founded the rival Toi Toi in Wiesbaden in 1983. The financial investors CVC and 3i bought both companies in the mid-1990s for a total of 60 million and merged them in 1997 under the name Adco. In 2007 they sold the company back to the Toi-Toi entrepreneurial family Müller. In the summer of 2019, they brought the investment company Apax on board in order to use their funds to accelerate expansion, but remained involved with a minority stake.

According to financial circles, the company was valued at around 800 million euros at the time.

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