The manufacturer of the Fritzbox is apparently looking for new owners.
(Photo: IMAGO/IPON)
Frankfurt In the competitive market for routers, AVM is the only German company that stands up to American and Asian competition. However, the manufacturer of the Fritzbox models could soon give up its independence: According to information from financial circles, the founders are planning a sale.
The investment bank Lincoln has prepared an auction process, several people familiar with the matter told Handelsblatt. Numerous private equity investors were involved in the electronics manufacturer. It is still unclear whether a deal will be concluded, but in any case it will take months, they said. Lincoln declined to comment.
According to its own information, the manufacturer of network technology achieved sales of 620 million euros last year, an increase of nine percent. According to estimates in financial circles, the operating profit was between 80 and 90 million euros. The company’s valuation could be between 750 million and one billion euros.
From on-screen text to real-time internet
When asked by Handelsblatt, AVM explained: “The founders and managing partners of AVM are now approaching 70. It is important to them that AVM’s success continues, even if they are no longer with the company one day. They have been actively planning this transition for some time and are discussing various options without any time pressure.” However, they did not want to take part in speculation.
The management team of Johannes Nill, Peter Faxel and Ulrich Müller-Albring has been there in West Berlin since it was founded in 1986: The students wanted to make on-screen text (BTX) – a predecessor of the Internet – usable for PCs. Data transmission took place via a telephone that was connected to an analog acoustic coupler.
The name also comes from the early days: AVM stands for “Audiovisual Marketing”, which the founders wanted to offer as a BTX service provider.
The company is considered the market leader in Germany.
(Photo: dpa)
The founders demonstrated a good instinct. Electronic communication was a niche market in the 1980s, but with the spread of the ISDN and DSL standards, the Internet became valuable and affordable for companies and private individuals. AVM supplied the equipment for this.
Initially, the electronics manufacturer supplied business customers such as Datev and the Bundespost with devices that cost several thousand German marks. They later developed technology for private users, for example the Fritzcard, which was built into the PC, and from 2004 the Fritzbox.
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Today, the router is the headquarters for the home network, connecting PCs and smartphones, televisions and thermostats to the Internet. And AVM is a company with around 880 employees that dominates the market in Germany and is active in other European countries.
In addition to technology for the home network, AVM now also offers telephones and products for the networked home, such as thermostats, sockets, lamps and buttons. Over the years, the company has also built up sales for small and medium-sized business customers and authorities.
To this day, AVM is in the hands of the founding generation. According to the commercial register, managing director Johannes Nill holds 42 percent of the shares, Peter Faxel 31 percent and Ulrich Müller-Albring 21 percent. Another seven percent belongs to Jörg-Detlef Gebert, who, according to previous media reports, is considered the fourth co-founder, but is apparently no longer active in the company.
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