EQS-News: GESCO SE sells AstroPlast Kunststofftechnik

• Contract for sale of AstroPlast Kunststofftechnik GmbH & Co. KG signed
• Management buy-out by managing director
• GESCO optimizes portfolio as announced

GESCO SE will sell 100% of its shares in AstroPlast Kunststofftechnik to the managing director Dennis Gattermann. Mr. Gattermann has been with the company since 2022 as an investment manager and since 2023 successfully as managing director. The closing is planned by the end of the financial year. AstroPlast, which currently has around 70 employees and generates sales of approximately € 15 million, specializes in the production of technically sophisticated large parts, products made of crystal-clear thermoplastics and the use of secondary materials. The parties have agreed not to disclose the details of the contract.

Both sides will benefit from this strategic decision: GESCO is optimizing its own portfolio as announced and focusing on companies with a greater depth of added value and international ambitions, while AstroPlast is given greater freedom for independent growth. AstroPlast is a healthy company with modern machinery. As a local, highly automated contract manufacturer with relatively little degree of vertical integration, the business model of AstroPlast differs from most other GESCO Group companies.

“We have a win-win situation here,” emphasizes Johannes Pfeffer, CEO of GESCO SE. ”With this transaction, we are increasing the focus and thus the profitability of GESCO Group in the medium term. AstroPlast, on the other hand, is optimally positioned to develop independently under the proven leadership of Mr. Gattermann. This solution reflects the continuity of our investment portfolio very well: whenever we have to decide on a separation, we try to find the best long-term path for the company and its employees. In addition, we want to make a concrete contribution to ensuring that the company remains successful and continues to develop positively after the separation. I myself will continue to be actively involved here in the form of an advisory board,” says Johannes Pfeffer.

Dennis Gattermann sees great potential in the takeover: “The MBO is a great opportunity to continue our growth independently. I would like to thank GESCO SE for their trust and look forward to further expanding AstroPlast's innovative strength and market position.”

About GESCO:

GESCO SE is an industrial group with market- and technology-leading companies in the capital goods industry specialising in process, resource, healthcare and infrastructure technology. As a Prime Standard-listed company, GESCO SE gives private and institutional investors access to a portfolio of hidden champions in the industrial SME sector.

About AstroPlast:

AstroPlast is a specialist in the production of technically demanding large parts, products made of crystal-clear thermoplastics and the use of secondary materials. On the basis of its high level of internal expertise in process engineering, its machine pool with clamping forces of 50t to 2,300t and its own toolmaking, AstroPlast wins customers, for example, from the electrical and household appliance industry, the construction industry, develops and manufactures for lighting manufacturers, for medical technology as well as for the logistics and disposal industry. In addition, the company develops and sells its own range of special coils made of plastic, which are supplied to producers of wires, cables, tapes or optical fibers.

AstroPlast has been part of the GESCO Group since 1995.

Contact GESCO:

Peter Alex
Head of Investor Relations

Tel. +49 (0) 202 24820-18
Fax +49 (0) 202 24820-49
E-Mail: ir@gesco.de
Internet: www.gesco.de

Contact AstroPlast:

Dennis Gattermann
CEO

Tel.: +49 (0) 291/95295-10
E-Mail: d.gattermann@astroplast.de
Internet: www.astroplast.de