Deal Announcement 08/21: Engineering & Construction

The Deal

The PwC M&A team is pleased to announce the successful sale of Nobiskrug GmbH (“Nobiskrug”) to Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft mbH (“FSG”).

Nobiskrug located in Rendsburg (Schleswig-Holstein) is one of the world's leading shipyards for superyachts from 60 metres in length. At the shipyard customised superyachts of highest quality standards are built exclusively according to individual customer wishes. Many of the iconic superyachts have won important design awards, most recently the 143-meter Sailing Yacht A and the hybrid-powered Artefact.

Project delays were the reason Nobiskrug had to file for insolvency in April 2021. The insolvency proceeding was led by insolvency administrator and attorney at law Hendrik Gittermann (Reimer Rechtsanwälte). Shortly after filing for insolvency a structured, international M&A process led by PwC has been initiated.

Due to its excellent reputation and strong market position Nobiskrug drew interest from various strategic investors in the course of the M&A process. FSG, which belongs to the Tennor Holding, succeeded in the competitive M&A process. Lars Windhorst, CEO of Tennor Group, explained: "The acquisition of Nobiskrug is an important strategic step for us to get access to the attractive growth market for superyachts."

The transaction was signed on 16 July 2021. As usual the deal is still subject to approval by the German antitrust authorities. FSG will take over most of the employees.

PwC advised the insolvency administrator with its in-depth distressed M&A expertise and with the preparation of a business plan. The signing of the deal took place less than 3 months after the kick-off of the M&A process.

Nobiskrug GmbH

Nobiskrug GmbH is one of the world's leading shipyards for superyachts from 60 meters in length with 115 years of shipbuilding history. At the site in Rendsburg, customized superyachts of the highest quality are built exclusively according to individual customer requirements. Nobiskrug generated around 125 million euros in 2020 with around 330 employees.

Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft mbH

Since its foundation in 1872, FSG has designed and built more than 750 vessels. These include many unique and complex projects, such as submersible heavy-lift carriers, seismic vessels, well intervention vessels, state-of-the-art RoRo ferries or ships for strategic naval support. The company's strength lies in the design and implementation of customized solutions for owners and operators with high expectations for reliability and optimal functionality. FSG's success is based on a combination of many years of experience, sophisticated planning and production processes, solid design skills, and the drive to identify and perfectly implement customers' needs and requirements.

Reimer Rechtsanwälte

REIMER is a law firm specializing in reorganization consulting, restructuring consulting and insolvency administration with more than 90 experts in restructuring law, insolvency law, corporate law and labor law as well as business administration and taxation. With eleven insolvency administrators and more than 20 attorneys at its offices in Hamburg, Kiel, Lübeck, Flensburg, Rostock, Hannover, Frankfurt and Mannheim, the firm is one of the largest and most experienced German law firms for restructuring and insolvency law. Hendrik Gittermann is a proven expert in the restructuring of companies in the maritime sector.

PwC

The global PricewaterhouseCoopers network is a worldwide association of independent auditing and consulting companies which together employ more than 280,000 people in 157 countries. Our global network comprises nearly 1,600 M&A professionals all over the world, realising approx. 400 successful transactions per year. We specialize in a wide range of independent M&A services including advice on acquisitions and disposals, mergers, public takeovers, privatizations as well as structured financing.

The transaction was led by Timo Klees (Partner) and Julia Jaumann (Manager) and was supported by Matthias Friedl (Associate). PwC`s restructuring team included Christoph Konow (Director), Victor Benary (Manager) and Laura Ludolphy (Associate).