CVC Capital Partners has signed an agreement to sell their participation in Kalle Holding GmbH to Montagu Private Equity. The purchase price was not disclosed. Following clearance by the relevant anti-trust authorities, the sale is expected to close at the end of August 2004. Before a management buyout led by funds advised by CVC Capital Partners acquired Kalle in 1997, the company was a subsidiary of Hoechst AG. 

Kalle is one of the world's leading producers of viscose-, plastic- and textile-based artificial sausage casings, making it one of the most important partners for the meat processing industry and the butcher trade. Kalle´s trademark "Nalo" has been synonymous with high quality sausage casings for 75 years. Sponge cloths are another business line at Kalle.

The Kalle Group has 1,250 employees and generated a turnover of €167 million in 2003. Manufacturing, sales and marketing, research and development, and ad-ministration are based at Kalle´s headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany. Abroad, Kalle has its own sales organisation with production and converting facilities in Chile, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary and the USA. Kalle also maintains a global network of specialised representatives.

Steven Koltes, Managing Partner at CVC in Frankfurt said: "Kalle has been a very successful investment for CVC. Walter Niederstätter and his team have quite impressively managed to increase sales and earnings steadily over the past years and to integrate two add-on acquisitions. We wish the company and its new investor well for the future."

Nigel Hammond, Head of European Investment and David Farley, Director at Montagu Private Equity emphasized the attractiveness of the investment: "Over the last years the business has reinforced its strong market position through attention to quality and to an innovative approach to providing value added products to its customers. Through its core competencies market orientation, innovative thinking and leading edge technology, the business is poised to benefit from the penetration of new markets but also by extending the geographic reach of the business".

Kalle's Chief Executive Officer, Walter Niederstätter welcomed the entrepreneurial partnership with Montagu Private Equity as an important step in the successful ongoing development of the company. "Kalle is thus positioned for dynamic growth and with Montagu has obtained the backing of another strong and committed investor to support it during this exciting new expansion phase".

Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as exclusive financial adviser to Kalle and the funds advised by CVC Capital Partners. 
Mizuho Corporate Bank provided the debt facilities for the transaction.