Beissbarth becomes part of the Stertil Group

Beissbarth Automotive Testing Solutions GmbH is taking over Beissbarth GmbH as a subsidiary of Stertil B.V., effective 1 January 2023. Most self-administration proceedings Beissbarth GmbH applied for in July 2022 are therefore complete. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

A total of 100 jobs and the company’s Munich location have been retained. 24 of the original 150 employees of Beissbarth GmbH transferred to an employment and qualification company at the turn of the year. 15 employees were taken over by the service provider TecService 360 GmbH, which will be responsible for maintenance and service in the future. Beissbarth Automotive Testing Solutions GmbH started with a reduced, “but nevertheless powerful” team of 85 employees.

Commenting on the job losses, CEO Gary Palmer said: “Unfortunately the reduction of personnel was absolutely necessary, we needed to right size and reposition the Beissbarth organisation in order to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving marketplace. The needs of the future automotive workshop will be quite different to those of today. Nevertheless, the fact that we had to say goodbye to a number of our employees hurts personally. However, we have worked hard and in close coordination with the workers council to develop a respectful and supportive solution that has the interests of those departing colleagues in focus over the months to come.”

As a result of the acquisition, the former Beissbarth business will in future belong to the Stertil Group, a part of Citadel Enterprises based in Kootstertille, the Netherlands. The sale of the businesses to Beissbarth Automotive Testing Solutions GmbH, marks a bittersweet chapter in the company’s history of more than 120 years. The brand lives on and many jobs have been saved, but not without turbulence in the meantime.

Beissbarth manufactures testing and service equipment for automotive workshops designed to meet “the ever-increasing standards of the automotive industry”. For decades, the focus has been on wheel alignment, brake testers, suspension testers and products for tyre service.

With around 800 employees and annual sales of over 200 million euros, Stertil Group manufactures and sells products for the lifting and loading platform industry worldwide. In February 2022, Stertil Group acquired the Baden-Württemberg-based lifting platform manufacturer Nussbaum. With the purchase of Beissbarth, Stertil is further expanding its product portfolio in the automotive workshop environment.

Beissbarth GmbH has been in self-administration proceedings since 1 July 2022, with its management supported by Jean-Olivier Boghossian as Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO). The Munich Local Court also appointed the Munich lawyer for insolvency and restructuring law Dr. Matthias Hofmann from the law firm Pohlmann Hofmann as custodian (“Sachwalter”) and set up a creditors’ committee. The company continued beyond the opening of the self-administration proceedings on 1 October 2022, despite the currently tense overall economic situation. Within the framework of a structured merger and acquisition process, advised by Falkensteg partner Jonas Eckhardt and his team, Stertil B.V. ultimately prevailed.

Beissbarth Automotive Testing Solutions GmbH was founded by Stertil B.V. in order to take over the company as of 1 January 2023 as part of a company sale without any legacy financial burdens. Beissbarth Automotive Testing Solutions GmbH intends to seamlessly continue the cooperation with its worldwide customers and business partners from its location in Munich. The business itself thus left the insolvency phase on 1 January  2023. However, the previous legal entity Beissbarth GmbH will continue to be wound up in self-administration proceedings in order to serve the creditors from the proceeds of the sale of the company and the liquidation of unsold assets.

Gary Palmer, the CEO of the former and also of the current Beissbarth company, is convinced of the solution found: “With Stertil Group as our new owners we now have the ideal partner for the future development of the Beissbarth brand and business.I firmly believe that working in concert with the Stertil Group and Nussbaum management teams we can finally enable the full potential of Beissbarth products already known for their quality and excellence across the globe. After a year of very tough times for the Beissbarth team we are all thrilled and re-energised to embrace the opportunities that lay ahead of us.”

CRO Jean-Olivier Boghossian added: “In terms of complexity, the restructuring of Beissbarth is certainly one of the most challenging mandates of my 25 years as a restructuring lawyer. In the past six months, all those involved had to go to their professional and personal limits in terms of time and content in order to cross the finish line of this challenging marathon together. One can wish those, which carry the baton of the Beissbarth history now into the further future, only the best, so that the enterprise, which received on 14.04.1899 the first car license plate of the world “No. 1” remains “leader” of the industry.”

Matthias Hofmann, who closely accompanied the proceedings as custodian (“Sachwalter”) in the interest of the creditors, is also positive: “The past months have been very challenging for the Beissbarth team. I am all the more pleased that, with a lot of effort and good teamwork, a good solution has now been found for all parties involved. The management, general representative, executives, works council and many employees have all pulled together to achieve this result. Many business and contractual partners have also supported the company through the period of self-administration. Without this joint effort, the turnaround would not have been possible, so my thanks go to everyone involved.”