KME SPECIAL enters new phase of growth with Paragon as majority shareholder

KME SPECIAL, headquartered in Osnabrück (Germany), will generate around €300m revenue in 2021 by serving its global customer base with advanced products and services used in the continuous casting of steel and other metals, corrosion resistant products for maritime applications, and customer specific products for industrial processes. The company employs approximately 1,200 people and operates 11 sites around the globe. Paragon and KME SE will jointly carve-out KME SPECIAL from KME group and support its ambitious growth agenda.

Dr. Krischan von Moeller, Senior Partner of Paragon: “We are excited to invest in a true hidden champion with global presence and technological leadership. As a standalone company, KME SPECIAL will be more agile and dedicated to its customers, creating value for all stakeholders. As a provider of critical technology for steel plants, KME SPECIAL will play an important part in increasing the efficiency of steel plants and advancing Green Steel, thereby reducing global emissions.“

Max Moser von Filseck, Partner at Paragon: “KME SPECIAL has demonstrated extraordinary resilience over the last years. Together with the significant operational improvement and growth potential, this forms the strong basis for our investment. We look forward to work with management and employees of KME SPECIAL along these dimensions and shape the company’s standalone future.”

Vincenzo Manes, Executive Chairman of Intek (parent of KME SE): “We are delighted to have found a strong partner in Paragon, to drive the standalone future of KME SPECIAL and take it to new heights. This spin-off is an integral part of KME’s strategy to focus on rolled products. We look forward to work with Paragon to complete the carve-out and drive the growth strategy of KME SPECIAL.”

Dr. Bernhard Hoffmann, CEO of KME SPECIAL: “We very much look forward to working closely together with Paragon, as we continue to focus on providing highest quality products and services to customers around the world. Leveraging its broad experience in the industrials sector, Paragon will support KME SPECIAL to fully exploit its potential as a standalone company. Capitalizing on our global leadership in casting technologies, we will push growth through capacity expansion, continuous product innovations and strengthening KME SPECIAL’s service activities globally. Similarly, our activities in maritime and industrial applications will benefit from investments and operational improvements. The independent company will be much more flexible and will have access to significant capital for organic and M&A driven growth.”

Paragon was advised by Alvarez & Marsal (finance and carve-out), KPMG (tax), Latham & Watkins (legal), Singular (commercial), and Tauw (environmental); and received a financing package by Hayfin Capital Management.

About KME SPECIAL
Headquartered in Osnabrück (Germany), KME SPECIAL operates globally across its three businesses. Firstly, providing technologically advanced products and services used in continuous casting of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Secondly, producing highly corrosion resistant copper-nickel products used in the naval and petrochemical industries. And thirdly, producing customer-specific copper alloy-based products for industrial processes. The company employs a total workforce of about 1,200 employees across the headquarters, the production sites in Osnabrück (Germany), Fornaci Di Barga (Italy), Dalian (China), and Jacksonville (US), and seven fully dedicated service centres. KME SPECIAL will generate a revenue of around €300m in 2021. For more information about the firm, please visit: www.kme.com/en/specialdivision

About KME SE
KME SE is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of copper and copper alloy products with eight production plants in Germany, France, Italy, China and the USA. KME SE traces its roots back over a century to SMI, Società Metallurgica Italiana, established in 1886, and Kabelmetal Osnabrück founded in 1873. Today, KME SE is headquartered in Osnabrück (Germany) and owned by Intek Group S.p.A. located in Milan (Italy). For further information about the firms, please visit www.kme.com and www.itkgroup.it

About Paragon
Founded in 2004, Paragon is one of the leading independent private equity firms in Europe, with more than EUR 1.2 billion of equity under management. Paragon works closely with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence. The investment portfolio covers various industries and currently comprises 16 companies. The firm is based in Munich, Germany. For more information about the firm, please visit: www.paragon.de/en