As of today, the DiHAG Integrated Foundry Group will take over the company. Business operations will continue without restriction and all jobs will be retained.
Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn GmbH currently employs around 840 people and manufactures high-temperature-resistant exhaust components for well-known manufacturers and system suppliers in the international automotive industry. The company's products are also used outside the automotive sector, in particular for cylinder heads. Eisenwerk Hasenclever had to file for insolvency at Marburg Local Court in November 2023 due to severe fluctuations in demand. In addition, the simultaneous ramp-up of new customer projects led to high reject rates and increased financing requirements.
The DiHAG Integrated Foundry Group already operates eight traditional, modern foundries in Germany, Poland and Hungary. The portfolio includes cast products in iron and steel casting as well as products made of iron and steel in molds, e.g. rolls for steelworks. DiHAG is currently active in the rail transportation, wind energy, plant and mechanical engineering, construction machinery, mining, iron and steel industries and agricultural machinery sectors.
DiHAG Integrated Foundry Group has acquired the entire business operations of Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn, including all assets and employees, by notarized agreement. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The completion of the company purchase agreement is still subject to the condition precedent of antitrust approvals.
"DiHAG is successfully active in many industries, but not yet in the automotive sector. The acquisition of Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn is therefore a further step in the diversification of our company. The distribution of our turnover across many different product ranges and sectors makes us less dependent on economic fluctuations in individual economic sectors. This also forms the core of our strategy of not allowing any dependence on individual customers and sectors. The active desire of the customers of Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn to take it over and the significant financial support associated with this has convinced us that the foundry is technically outstanding and will therefore survive on the market in the long term. In addition, we are certain that we will soon be able to generate attractive synergies," emphasizes Christian Lüke, CFO and Managing Director of the DiHAG Integrated Foundry Group.
"In DiHAG Integrated Foundry Group, we have found a suitable strategic investor for Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn in close consultation with our main customers. It not only brings the necessary financial resources, but also extensive expertise and experience from the foundry sector to foundry sector to drive forward the transformation process at this long-established company. The DiHAG team at Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn can rely on a highly motivated workforce and cooperative customers; they have also given me outstanding support over the last few months, for which I would like to take this opportunity to thank them once again," explains the experienced restructuring expert Martin Mucha, who was appointed insolvency administrator by the Marburg Local Court.
The GRUB BRUGGER team consisted mainly of the insolvency administrator Martin Mucha (partner), Karl Sebastian Schäfer (partner), Dr. Mario Weiss, Dr. Silvan Bächle, Sabrina Rittmann, Dennis Lang (partner) and Dr. Heiko Schindera.
Andreas Willeke from Falkensteg and Jochen Glück from Change Management took over the management of Eisenwerk Hasenclever & Sohn on an interim basis during the insolvency proceedings.
The structured investor process was supported by a team led by Jörg Brunner from Roland Berger GmbH, Munich. A team led by Katherina Gasser from PwC provided business management support.
About GRUB BRUGGER:
GRUB BRUGGER has been operating nationally and internationally for more than five decades, currently with offices in Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Freiburg. Since its foundation in 1965, the firm has consistently focused on insolvency, restructuring and commercial law. Advising companies in crisis and their creditors, insolvency administration and cooperation with financial investors and credit institutions have significantly shaped GRUB BRUGGER's profile. GRUB BRUGGER is a law firm that has received many awards in the specialist and business press over the years and is one of Germany's leading addresses for insolvency and restructuring advice as well as insolvency and self-administration. More at www.grub-brugger.de.
Martin Mucha is a specialist lawyer for insolvency and restructuring law, a partner at GRUB BRUGGER and, according to the JUVE Handbook of Commercial Law Firms 2023/2024, repeatedly one of the leading names in insolvency administration in Germany. Martin Mucha was also recently listed among the most renowned lawyers for restructuring in the WirtschaftsWoche ranking. Last year, the Insolvency Law and Restructuring Working Group presented Martin Mucha with the "Self-Administrator of the Year" award. The Handelsblatt recently named Martin Mucha Lawyer of the Year in the field of restructuring and insolvency law. Martin Mucha is a member of the German Association of Insolvency Administrators and Trustees (VID) as well as the specialist committee for insolvency law of the German Federal Bar Association and the Gravenbrucher Kreis.
