AE&E CZ - acquisition

In February 2011, EEIP was engaged as an exclusive financial advisor to AE&E CZ, s.r.o., a Czech subsidiary of Vienna-based AE&E Group. AE&E Group had filed for insolvency in November 2010 and left its Czech subsidiary with several risky projects and without access to project financing. For legal issues, Salans Europe LLP was retained as a legal advisor.

During its mandate, EEIP prepared and carried out the tender process for the company and subsequently for the insolvency trustee of AE&E CZ, as the company filed for bankruptcy under the Czech law at the end of May 2011. Due to the nature of AE&E CZ’s operations and structure of its assets, it was crucial to execute the process as fast as possible in order to motivate the employees and customers to remain confident with the future of the company.

As a result of the tender process, virtually all assets and employees of AE&E CZ were acquired by Bilfinger Berger Power Services, a part of the Bilfinger Berger Group. The transaction was closed on 11 July 2011, only 41 days after insolvency filing and saved jobs of 160 employees of AE&E CZ and a substantial portion of the approximately EUR 200 million of exposure of creditors and business partners of AE&E CZ. The business of the former AE&E CZ subsidiary is now operated under the Babcock Borsig Steinmüller brand.

AE&E CZ (the business now operated under Babcock Borsig Steinmüller CZ s.r.o.) is an engineering company located in Brno, Czech Republic. The company is a supplier of power plant equipment, with a focus on heat recovery steam generators and biomass boilers. In 2010, AE&E CZ’s sales exceeded EUR 79 million with over 160 employees working on projects in Europe and Asia.

Bilfinger Berger is a leading international services group for industry, real estate and infrastructure listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Group’s operations comprise the business segments Industrial Services, Power Services, Building and Facility Services, Construction and Concessions. The Group’s 2010 sales exceed EUR 8 billion with more than 58,000 employees.