• Vossloh-Schwabe markets individual solutions in the areas of LED, light management systems and conventional lighting in high-end quality under its own brand. Headquartered in Schorndorf, Germany, the company supplies a broad and loyal customer base of luminaire manufacturers and B2B electronics distributors in more than 90 countries.

    • Headquarter
      Schorndorf, Germany

    • Employees
      1,063 full-time-employees

    • Sales
      EUR 161m

    • Industry
      Manufacturing of lighting components and systems

    • Seller
      Panasonic Corporation

    • Products/Services
      Drivers, modules, optics, lampholders, magnetic ballasts, light management systems

Already back in 1919, Vossloh-Schwabe started with the production of lampholders for light bulbs. 100 years later, the company has developed into a globally operating manufacturer of luminaires components and systems which are used in office buildings, retail buildings, production facilities and infrastructure projects.

With more than 1,000 employees at more than 20 production sites and sales offices worldwide, Vossloh-Schwabe is acknowledged as a technology leader in the lighting sector. The product portfolio covers the entire range of lighting components from LED systems with optimally fitted operating devices and modern control systems (LiCS) to electronic and magnetic ballasts and lampholders.

  • With many years of experience, Fidelium is a great sparring partner for our strategy and corporate development. We are very excited that the Fidelium team will work closely with our management team and employees to further improve and expand our business.

    Klaus Breisch, Managing Director of Vossloh-Schwabe

The company had been part of the Panasonic Group since the takeover in 2002 and was acquired by Fidelium in a carve-out with the aim of positioning Vossloh-Schwabe as a flexible and independent medium-sized company. In the future, the company will tackle the challenges of a highly dynamic lighting market and continuously develop new solutions in the field of Smart Lighting in order to meet the increasing demands on lighting systems in terms of connectivity and automation and to tap further market potential.

Key transaction parameters

  • Company
    description

    • LED components and lighting solutions

  • Key
    financials

    • At acquisition €115m revenues and € -11m EBITDA in ‘20

  • Seller
    rationale

    • Panasonic (JP), divestiture of poorly performing subsidiary

  • Situation at aquisition

  • Fidelium’s value-add

  • Situation at aquisition

    • CARVE-OUT SITUATION

      Non-core subsidiary, low management attention

  • Fidelium’s value-add

    • CARVE-OUT SITUATION

      Fidelium‘s experienced team delivered fast carve-out for Panasonic

  • Situation at aquisition

    • ORGANISATIONAL GAPS

      Key management gaps and missing stand-alone functions

  • Fidelium’s value-add

    • ORGANISATIONAL GAPS

      Closed stand-alone gaps, supported by Fidelium’s operations team

  • Situation at aquisition

    • UNDERPERFORMANCE

      Heavily loss-making (cum. €(18)m EBITDA losses in 24 months)

  • Fidelium’s value-add

    • UNDERPERFORMANCE

      Reduction of overheads and SKUs, focus on high margin products.
      Cash injection by Fidelium to support business during Covid

  • Situation at aquisition

    • HIGH COMPLEXITY

      Complex set-up with multiple inefficient production sites in Europe

  • Fidelium’s value-add

    • HIGH COMPLEXITY

      Consolidation of European manufacturing and sales organisation

    • OUTLOOK

      Last man standing in conventional lighting, focus on future techs

Footprint overview

Results during ownership

  • Growth

    • Reversed decline: +€17m in 24 months

  • Profitability

    • Improved EBITDA by €19m in 24 months