Zellweger

The Company

The Zellweger Luwa Group (Zellweger Luwa) is an industrial holding company headquartered in Uster, Switzerland. Zellweger Luwa owns Luwa, a global air engineering and construction company specializing in process environments.  Its North American subsidiary, Luwa Americas, designs, supplies, installs, and services sophisticated, high-quality air handling and treatment systems for a broad range of complex industrial, institutional, and commercial applications.  Luwa Americas has 80 years of profitable experience and is firmly established as one of the strongest players in the air engineering market within the NAFTA region.  Luwa Americas operates in the United States as Luwa, Inc. (Luwa USA) and in Mexico as Luwa México S.A. de C.V. (Luwa Mexico).

The Situation

Zellweger Luwa conducted a strategic review of its holdings and decided to divest itself of the Luwa Americas business.  The shareholders determined that under a new ownership structure Luwa Americas could more effectively capitalize on marketopportunities.  With this in mind, the shareholders were seeking a buyer for the entire business and liquidity at a valuation that reflected the Luwa Americas’ strong growth prospects.

The Solution

KPMG Corporate Finance conducted a competitive process to identify strategic and financial acquirers that would enable the shareholders to exit the business at the desired valuation expectations. After developing market interest, it was determined that a sale to management would satisfy shareholder objectives.  Given Luwa’s progress billings and bonding requirements, KPMG Corporate Finance was instrumental in developing interest from senior lenders and eventually negotiating a financing arrangement.  KPMG Corporate Finance’s extensive experience with cross-border deals, global coverage, and knowledge of both the private equity and senior lending markets in the United Stateswere fundamental to the successful closing of a key transaction.