Arcapita announces acquisition of Europe's largest manufacturer of PVC frames

Profine was previously owned by Advent International and Carlyle Group.

Profine, headquartered in Troisdorf, Germany, currently has a production capacity of more than 450,000 tons of high-quality PVC frames and its 22% market share in Europe makes Profine the clear market leader. With its three brands, KBE, Kömmerling and Trocal, Profine employs a total of more than 3,700 employees in 26 locations in 21 countries and achieved turnover of €848m in 2006. In addition to its strong position in Western Europe, the group is already well established in the high-growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine, where it generates more than 50% of its overall revenues.

Profine is the largest of Arcapita's three recent investments in the building materials industry and was executed out of Arcapita's London offices. It follows the €620 million acquisition of Paroc in Finland and the $543 million acquisitions of Tensar in the US and Tensar International in the UK, reflecting the strong interest of investors in this sector.

Arcapita's Chief Executive Officer, Atif A. Abdulmalik, stated,

"The closing of the acquisition of Profine has been achieved despite the turbulent private equity and credit markets. The investment represents an opportunity for our investors to participate in the long-term growth opportunities of Eastern Europe, a high-growth region where there is still a shortage of housing and a pressing need to renovate a considerable quantity of the existing stock. The business is led by a strong management team and we look forward to working closely with them in growing the company."

This latest addition to Arcapita's portfolio follows a busy period during which Arcapita has exited three of its previous investments. Since July, the bank has sold Roxar, the Norwegian oil and gas technology services company, Zephyr, a portfolio of UK-based wind farms, and South Staffordshire, a UK water utility, in each case generating significantly higher than expected returns for investors.