(News from RISI) – The Dutch tissue manufacturer Van Houtum is back in family hands.
Henk van Houtum, the previous managing director of Van Houtum, bought back the majority stake in the firm, which the private equity fund Friesland Bank Investments (FBI) acquired in 2011, from Rabo Capital at the end of July. The price tag of the deal was not disclosed.
According to Van Houtum, the parties agreed on the transactions following dissent over the long-term future of the company. FBI has been part of Rabo Capital since 1 November 2012.
Van Houtum operates one mill in Swalmen, in the south of the Netherlands, where it can produce around 42,000tpy of tissue from 100% recycled fibre on two machines.
The firm has some 200 employees and generates annual sales of around €60m.
When FBI acquired the majority share in Van Houtum, the private equity fund announced plans to buy a new paper machine for the tissue mill in the near future.
A €20m investment was earmarked for a 30,000tpy tissue line.
The new unit, PM 5, was planned to replace Van Houtum’s existing PM 3 at the beginning of this year. However, the plan was never realised.
News form RISI (www.risi.com)
