ADB Airfield Solutions

In November 2009, Montagu Private Equity has completed the acquisition of ADB from Siemens AG. The total debt package of €73 million was financed by Bank of Ireland, WestLB, Siemens Financial Services, Fortis and KBC Bank. Montagu was the only bidder able to secure the financing within the process-imposed deadlines.

Founded in 1920, ADB is the world leader in airfield lighting. The group supplies products, systems and services for the visual guidance of aircrafts across the world. Its client base of over 2,000 airports includes Paris, Heathrow, Atlanta, Chicago, Moscow, Shanghai, Singapore, Johannesburg and Buenos Aires. Headquartered in Belgium, with a second manufacturing site in Columbus, Ohio (USA), the company has approximately 400 employees in 10 locations worldwide and registered sales of approximately €130 million in FY09.

The ADB opportunity was identified by Montagu's origination team long before the process started. This gave Montagu an intimate knowledge of the business and its potential for operational improvement which proved decisive in securing the debt financing.

ADB combines strong defensive characteristics thanks to its unrivalled installed base with attractive growth perspective, both in terms of sales and margins. With Montagu's active support, management will develop the group internationally, continue to fund investment in R&D, and further improve customer service. ADB's new subsidiary in China will be key to this strategy. Montagu intends to support ADB in seizing any external growth opportunities that would accelerate the group's development or consolidate its technological leadership.