Houlihan Lokey Advises Haniel

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH (Haniel) has acquired a majority stake in STAXS® Contamination Control Experts (STAXS) from pan-European private equity firm Silverfleet Capital.

With this acquisition, Haniel’s portfolio company CWS Cleanrooms further strengthens its position as the first full-service provider for cleanrooms in Europe.

STAXS is the leading value-added distributor of cleanroom consumables for life sciences and other industries in the broader Benelux region. As the contamination control expert, it has built an excellent reputation for quality and reliability. The acquisition of STAXS underpins the ambition of Haniel and CWS Cleanrooms in building a strong independent cleanroom business, allowing for further growth across European markets. Under the CWS Cleanrooms umbrella, STAXS will represent the Cleanroom Consumables platform and continue to service its customers as a separate company. The management team around Johan-Detlef Dubbelboer, Stijn Van Eenoo, Wico Maltha, Jeroen Juffermans, and Katia Poppe will remain committed as shareholders of STAXS.

As a company of CWS Group, CWS Cleanrooms is part of Haniel’s “Planet” investment pillar. To implement its “enkelfähig” purpose, Haniel is currently focusing on expanding the “Planet” portfolio.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive buyside financial advisor to Haniel and CWS Cleanrooms, assisting in evaluating and negotiating the transaction. This deal highlights Houlihan Lokey’s transaction capabilities in the Benelux and DACH regions and dedicated sector expertise within the healthcare industry.