AAC Capital Partners has sold Vetus to Yanmar

April 2013 — Yanmar, a Japanese designer and manufacturer of diesel engines, accessories and finishing equipment, has acquired Vetus from AAC Capital Partners. Financial details of this transaction have not been disclosed.

Vetus, a one-stop-shop for building and maintaining equipment for pleasure crafts and small commercial vessels, was acquired by a private equity firm in 2007, with a substantial amount of leverage. Immediately following, with the economic downturn, consumer confidence dropped. As a result of a high correlation, this impacted the leisure industry and Vetus' financial results significantly. With no improvement in performance expected in the short term, it was decided by Vetus' shareholders and lending banks to divest the company.

Yanmar's products are used for a wide range of applications like leisure crafts and commercial vessels, industrial use, agricultural machinery, construction equipment and power systems.

AAC Capital Partners is an investment management company with two specialized investment funds, dedicated to mid-market buyouts in North-Western Europe.

Our role in the transaction

Oaklins' team in the Netherlands acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to the shareholders of Vetus to find a new shareholder for the company. A short process was ran in which a handful of private equity and strategic players, which were already familiar with the company, were invited to participate.