19.03.2024
International
The management consultancy Falkensteg has advised Fritz Winter Eisengießerei GmbH & Co. KG on the refinancing of an existing syndicated loan as sole debt advisor. The transaction volume amounts to almost 300 million euros and includes the revolving credit line, bilateral credit lines and existing old loans. The loan funds will be used to launch the largest investment program in the iron foundry's history.
The Falkensteg Debt Advisory Team led by Horst Fuerpass jr. developed the financing structure, supported the negotiations with the banks and accompanied the contractual implementation. The lending consortium is made up of seven commercial banks, some of which operate locally and internationally.
The Fritz Winter iron foundry from Stadtallendorf has been developing and producing raw and finished components as well as complex system components, also in lightweight construction, for more than 70 years. Its customers are the leading OEMs in the global automotive, commercial vehicle and hydraulics industries. More than 3,000 employees at four locations in Europe, the USA and China generate an annual turnover of almost one billion euros. Fritz Winter relies entirely on recycled materials for its production and has invested around 220 million euros over the past six years.
"In the current environment of the automotive industry, financing with this volume is a confirmation of our work and shows the confidence of the lenders in Fritz Winter," says Jörg Müller, CFO of Fritz Winter Eisengießerei. The aim is to use the money over the next few years to develop innovations and consistently drive forward decarbonization in order to achieve the planned CO2 neutrality by 2045 and make the sites future-proof. "This makes it all the more important to have a reliable partner at our side in Falkensteg, who knows the needs of the foundry and automotive industry and has developed the right financing for our strategy," adds Jörg Müller.