Houlihan Lokey Advises ZEISS

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that ZEISS has agreed to sell its Hunting & Nature business to palero.

Headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany, ZEISS is a global technology leader in the optical and optoelectronic industries, generating annual revenues of nearly €12 billion. ZEISS operates across four segments: Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, and Consumer Markets.

The ZEISS Hunting & Nature business is a leading provider of premium optics and digital solutions for hunters, nature enthusiasts and birders, including riflescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes and trail cams. The business will be established as a new independent company, and palero will become its sole owner. ZEISS will contribute its technology and license the ZEISS brand to the new company, strengthening the brand as a premium name for Hunting & Nature.

Headquartered in Munich, Germany, palero is an independent private equity firm with more than 15 years of experience, focusing on carve-outs. With an operational value creation approach, palero successfully establishes sustainable independent companies across various industries.

All teams, functions, and existing locations in Germany and international markets will transition to the new company, which will serve customers worldwide and pursue continued innovation across its product categories, including analog optics, trail cameras, and digital solutions.

“As a stand-alone and independent organisation, we will be able to act even more flexibly and closer to market and customer needs. We are bringing together the best of two worlds—our innovative strength and our product portfolio for analog and digital optics as well as trail cameras, combined with the advantages of an independent setup,” said Stefan Hämmerle, CEO of ZEISS Hunting & Nature.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the exclusive sellside advisor to ZEISS.

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