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Doughty Hanson buys Svendborg Brakes

By on June 30 2008

Svendborg Brakes, a provider of braking systems to the wind, mining and offshore oil industries, has been bought out by private equity firm Doughty Hanson. The firm paid €460 million to buy the entirety of Denmark-based Svendborg from its two private owners.

The company supplies wind turbine manufacturers in Europe, the US and Asia, where it established a new facility in China last year.

Jan Amethier, a senior principal at Doughty Hanson who heads the firm’s activities in the Nordic region, comments: ‘Wind energy is one of the fastest developing sectors in the alternative energy space and is expected to see unprecedented growth globally in the coming years.

‘In line with this, Svendborg Brakes has achieved a phenomenal increase in revenues in the past few years, more than doubling its annual turnover between 2005 and 2007.’

Svendborg’s CEO Martin Rambusch, who remains in place following the acquisition, says Doughty Hanson’s takeover will allow the company to accelerate its global expansion.

Svendborg Brakes is Doughty Hanson’s second investment in the renewable energy sector following its acquisition in 2001 of LM Glasfiber, a supplier of blades for wind turbines.

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