UBS Capital Buys Aquarius Group

UBS Capital, the private equity division of UBS AG, in late February paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Aquarius Group of the Netherlands from owner Henk Durckx. WestLB provided debt for the acquisition. Aquarius, which is the world’s leading manufacturer of machinery for the production of lollipops and sugar cubes, in 1998 made sales totalling around DFl 50 million (euro 23 million).

The group’s sugar cube manufacturing lines are marketed under the Elba brand, while forming, cooling and packaging machines for the lollipop industry and other specialist packaging lines for the confectionery and frozen food industries carry the Aquarius name.

Under its new ownership, the company intends to build on its two powerful specialist brands to develop its business both organically and through acquisition. At the time of the acquisition, Aquarius had no chief executive in place.

UBS Capital, which was attracted to Aquarius by the strength of the group’s technical management, said that it is likely to appoint a candidate with a strong marketing background to the post. Vendor Henk Durckx will act as a technical consultant to Aquarius.