Masterflex SE: Acquisition of fluoropolymer specialist APT GmbH

Gelsenkirchen (pta031/22.12.2016/15:28 UTC+1) The Executive Board of connection systems specialist Masterflex SE is announcing the acquisition of all shares in APT Advanced Polymer Tubing GmbH. A binding purchase agreement, already been approved by the Masterflex Supervisory Board, was signed today. Closing of the transaction with a volume in the high seven figures is expected at the beginning of January 2017.

APT has outstanding expertise in the field of high-tech plastics such as PTFE and other fully fluorinated and partially fluorinated polymers. Masterflex Group does not yet have this material or application expertise and therefore categorizes this acquisition as a very strategic addition to its product portfolio. In addition, the acquisition will open up good access for the Masterflex Group to further market potentials in Germany and Europe. APT's activities are currently focused on the DACH region; the company is well positioned in its market segment.

The current Managing Directors of APT, Holger Heuser and Erich Kipping, will continue to lead the company. This guarantees that APT's expertise and good standing within its industry and its product range are retained.

The acquisition will be financed in the short term by the M&A facility of the syndicated loan agreement. An expansion of the equity base is feasible in the medium term; the resolutions required for this by company law are already in place.

FURTHER EXPLANATIONS:

Dr Andreas Bastin, CEO of the Masterflex Group, commented: "Our patient search has paid off: APT and its entire team are a truly excellent addition to our abilities. For historical reasons, the Masterflex Group has no experience with fluoropolymers until today. These plastics have outstanding potential for the future thanks to their excellent material properties - above all high chemical and thermal stability, good insulating properties, excellent weathering resistance, non-combustibility and anti-adhesion, i.e. an extremely smooth surface. In addition, our customers - especially in medical technology - have repeatedly asked us to develop hose and connection systems made of materials with these properties in the past. However, these high-performance plastics are very difficult to process and many facets of their handling and the expertise needed are unlike the high-performance plastics that we already very successfully process within the Masterflex Group. And precisely this is APT's daily business - and so we are proud indeed to have reached this agreement with the managing owners.

We - the Masterflex Executive Board and the management of APT - are confident that this bundling of competences will lead to further, even better connection systems. In the medium term, we will be able to successfully market these solutions in developed economies for the benefit of our shared customers thanks to the global Masterflex sales network."

Holger Heuser, Managing Director of APT, added: "Our products and expertise are top quality, and are much sought after on the markets we have addressed so far, especially in the DACH region. What we have been missing until now is a global sales network and good access to the medical market. We are therefore delighted that we will be a part of the Masterflex Group, and that we will benefit from its international positioning. Also, without major investment, we will now have the chance to produce and assemble in the class 6 to 8 clean room. We therefore anticipate excellent new market prospects for our products - even in the very near future."

The Masterflex Group is the listed specialist in the development and manufacture of sophisticated hose and connection systems. With 12 operational units in Europe, America and Asia, the Group is represented almost everywhere in the world. Internationalisation and innovation are the drivers for growth.
Contact: Dr. Annette Littmann, Tel. 49 209 970 77 44, Email: a.littmann@masterflexgroup.com

(end)

Emitter:	Masterflex SE Willy-Brandt-Allee 300 45891 Gelsenkirchen Germany
Contact Person:	Dr. Annette Littmann
Phone:	+49 209 97077-0
E-Mail:	a.littmann@masterflexgroup.com
Website:	www.MasterflexGroup.com
ISIN(s):	DE0005492938 (Share)
Stock Exchange(s):	Regulated Market in Frankfurt; Free Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart