ATA Announces German Acquisition

ATA acquires German cutting and industrial tooling specialists, Karnasch Professional Tools GmbH

ATA, an Irish-owned and Cavan-headquartered international precision engineering group with facilities in Ireland, the UK and the USA, has acquired Karnasch Professional Tools GmbH located in Heddesheim, near Mannheim and in Gorsdorf, near Berlin.

The acquisition of Karnasch marks another important milestone for ATA and the first since the 2016 management buyout of its private equity partners. The acquisition brings the value of the combined enterprise to circa €160m and increases the worldwide workforce to nearly four hundred staff of whom approximately one hundred and fifty are based in Ireland.

The original ATA business was acquired in 2008 by Peter Cosgrove and equity investors. Revenues grew substantially in the following decade, (mainly through a series of international acquisitions) from €17m then to €80m.

Established in 1960, Karnasch is a third-generation, family-owned company, selling precision industrial tools across multiple applications including grinding, milling, cutting, sawing and drilling. Karnasch enjoys market premium positions in a number of important product categories servicing various industry sectors including automotive, aerospace, construction and mechanical engineering. The company has a strong position in its domestic German market and exports to over 60 countries worldwide.

Michael and Sascha Karnasch will continue as managing directors in Karnasch, retaining a shareholding. Both join the ATA senior management team.

ATA CEO, Peter Cosgrove, said:

“We have long admired the professionalism of the Karnasch family and have greatly respected their clear market leadership. ATA is delighted to combine forces with a company of this calibre and reputation and look forward to having the benefit of their obvious expertise within the expanded organisation. This transaction is entirely consistent with our strategy to build a global company of scale in this industry and we look forward to delivering on the many market and product synergies that now become available. We are very pleased to have the continued support of our banks, and of DCF, and to have now secured the support of ISIF, who we view as an important supporter of our ambitious growth strategy.”

Karnasch Managing Director, Michael Karnasch, said:

“We are very pleased to be able to join with ATA who we know well and have hugely regarded for over twenty years. ATA are a progressive industry leader. We believe that our new combination provides many excellent opportunities to accelerate for growth, both for our business and for our employees.”

ISIF Senior Investment Director, Fergal McAleavey said:

“This is an excellent example of ISIF’s support for indigenous businesses in regions throughout Ireland. As a minority investor bringing long-term capital, ISIF is delighted to team up with ambitious Irish businesses such as ATA as they continue to scale up and expand their domestic and international operations. This is consistent with ISIF’s ‘double bottom line’ mandate of generating a commercial return and supporting economic activity and employment in Ireland.”

About ISIF

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, managed and controlled by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is an €8.9 billion sovereign development fund with a unique mandate. ISIF has a statutory mandate to invest on a commercial basis in a manner designed to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. The fund’s predecessor was the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF).