Clearwater International Germany advises Finatem on the cross-border sale of Schollenberger Group to French SOCOTEC Group

Clearwater International Germany has advised Finatem, a leading independent investment company focusing on the German SME sector, on the cross-border sale of Schollenberger Kampfmittelbergung GmbH (Schollenberger), to French SOCOTEC Group (SOCOTEC).

Schollenberger, with around 400 employees at its headquarters in Celle, Germany, and eight other sites, is the market leader in Germany and Austria in the field of civil explosive ordnance detection. The group offers its customers all services relating to technical detection of explosive ordnance. For construction in Germany and Austria, removal of explosive ordnance is a legal obligation in the event of any operation in the ground.

SOCOTEC is one of the leading European service providers in the field of testing, inspection and certification (TIC) for construction and infrastructure projects. SOCOTEC generates 200,000 clients, with operations in 25 countries, 7,400 employees and over 250 forms of external recognition.

Finatem is an independent partner-managed private equity firm based in Frankfurt that invests in majority buy-outs of companies with business activities and/or expertise in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. The company specialises in SMEs with sales between €20m – €125m that demonstrate clear growth potential.

The Clearwater International team was led by Managing Partner Axel Oltmann and Director Benjamin Bubrowski, with support from Associate Maximilian Hammers and Analysts Manuel Erath and Özgür Büber.