Alpine Equity Management Wins European Deal of the Year

You could say that the Austrian buyout firm Alpine Equity Management AG really sank its teeth into dental supply company AmannGirrbach to win Buyouts European Deal of the Year Award for 2011.

Over the course of a seven-year holding period, Alpine Equity transformed a family-owned Austrian supplier of bridges and crowns from €7 million ($7.5 million) revenue in 2003, with a single German distributor, into an integrated, €46 million-revenue corporation with more than 80 distributors around the world.

By the time Alpine Equity exited the business last year, selling it to mid-market buyout shop TA Associates of Boston, at an undisclosed price, the Austrian firm was able to claim a 19X return on its investment and a 51% IRR.

Alpine Equity, along with the other winners—Arbor Investments for Small Market Deal of the Year, Irving Place Capital for Mid-Market Deal of the Year and North Castle Partners for Turnaround of the Year—will be honored at a luncheon on April 26 at our Buyouts New York conference in New York City. There, we will also announce the winner of the Deal of the Year, whose nominees are the four individual category winners.

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