Roeselare, Belgium-headquartered Desotec specialises in mobile industrial filtration technology. Founded in 1990, Desotec has pioneered the market for mobile activated carbon filters. The company, which employs 110 people, has delivered an average annual top-line growth of 16% over the past decade and in 2016 had sales of approximately €50 million.
Desotec operates three state-of-the-art reactivation furnaces with a combined annual total capacity of around 12 400 tonnes of output. The company also has a fleet of around 1500 mobile filters.
“We are very excited to have EQT as our new owner and look forward to working together closely. EQT’s industrial approach, global presence and broad network will be of great value to Desotec as we embark on our next phase of growth. We believe that EQT’s entrepreneurial spirit will play an important part in our future success,” said Desotec’s CEO Mario Hertegonne.
Kristiaan Nieuwenburg, partner at EQT Partners and investment advisor to EQT VII, said: “We are impressed by the high quality of Desotec’s management and operations. The company has a true market leading position in the mobile filtration market, which it has successfully built over the past decade. We look forward to supporting the management team to expand into new markets and continue to invest in further growth.”
Marc Staal, managing partner at AAC Capital, said: “During our investment period we expanded Desotec’s footprint throughout Western Europe resulting in an annual EBITDA growth of 17.5%. Together with Mario Hertegonne and his team we implemented a comprehensive market strategy, developed new applications through innovation and opened a third state-of-the-art reactivation furnace. We are confident that Desotec will continue to flourish under its new ownership and we wish the business and all its employees every success in the future.”
The transaction is expected to close in August 2017.
