Christoph Ruhkamp

Reporter at Börsen-Zeitung

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Articles

Gerresheimer's multi-billion euro takeover might fall through

2 weeks ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Annette Becker |Christoph Ruhkamp

The proposed 3 billion euro sale of the pharmaceutical packaging company Gerresheimer is at risk of falling through. In March, several financial investors made indicative offers for the Düsseldorf-based company, including a consortium of private equity firms KKR and Warburg Pincus together with the sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. KKR has pulled out, according to reports first published by Bloomberg. KKR has declined to comment on the matter.
OLB sold to Crédit Mutuel

1 month ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Carsten Steevens |Gesche Wüpper |Christoph Ruhkamp

The French co-operative bank Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale is taking over Oldenburgische Landesbank (OLB) via its subsidiary Targo Deutschland. The previous owners of OLB, led by US private equity firm Apollo, decided against an IPO, which had been rumoured for several years. There had been speculation about an IPO coming in April. Plans for an IPO fell through in 2022 and 2023 due to weak market conditions.
Fear of flight of European tech company IPOs to the US market

1 month ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

Something worrying is happening in Europe's financial centres. There are more delistings than IPOs. Takeovers by competitors or private equity investors are usually responsible for the disappearance of companies. In 2024, 22 companies departed from the exchanges in Germany, seven from the more heavily regulated Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Wind farm operator Encavis was taken private by KKR.
Bain and Cinven temporarily call off Stada IPO

1 month ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

The „intention to float“ announcement for Stada's IPO had been widely expected for 19 March. However, the owners Bain and Cinven cancelled the IPO at the last minute, and are now focusing on a new attempt in September. This is the second time this year that the IPO of the generics company from Bad Vilbel has been postponed. The debut was also expected in January. The withdrawal is a bitter setback for the IPO market in Germany. It remains to be seen what caused the sudden change of heart.
PSG Equity expands its portfolio of German software companies

1 month ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

While the USA is distancing itself politically from Germany, American investors continue to focus on the domestic market. Financial investor PSG Equity, which specialises in buying stakes in software companies, is steadily expanding its presence in Germany. Last week the private equity firm announced the acquisition of a stake in Munich-based company Checkmk, a specialist in IT infrastructure monitoring. This brings Boston-based PSG Equity's total number of platform investments in Germany to seven.
Saudi Arabia becomes socially acceptable in Germany

1 month ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

When the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was strangled, sawed up and packed in plastic bags in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, international business partners distanced themselves from the Saudi crown prince and de facto head of state Mohammed bin Salman for a while. Those days are long gone. Saudi Arabia is a respectable investor.
Europe's IPO market slowly picking up speed

2 months ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

Europe's IPO market has some momentum, with Initial Public Offerings recently completed in Spain, Poland and Czech Republic. This is lifting the mood in the market, and among investment bankers. Private equity investors in particular are pinning their hopes on being able to exit their holdings via IPOs. In Germany, the generics group Stada from the Bain and Cinven portfolio, which is valued at up to 10 billion euros, is aiming to go public before Easter.
Private equity firms in refinancing fever

2 months ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

Something exceptional is happening on the market for the financing of companies with credit ratings below investment grade – so called leveraged finance. According to data from investment bank J.P. Morgan, the volume of high-yield bonds and Term Loans B – loans from institutional investors to companies – climbed to a record high in Europe in January.
Olympic Games open the door to private equity

2 months ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

Under new leadership, the Olympic Games could soon become an investable asset for private equity firms such as CVC, Carlyle and Permira. Seven candidates for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presented their plans at a non-public meeting of the committee on 30 January in Lausanne, Switzerland. One of them will be elected by the 111 IOC members in Greece in March. The vote is likely to be a neck-and-neck race between two favourites.
„As investors we have a strong affinity for the German-speaking region“

2 months ago | boersen-zeitung.de | Christoph Ruhkamp

Mr. de Daniel, you transitioned from the supervisory board to the CEO position at Kühne Holding about nine months ago, taking over the operational responsibility from Karl Gernandt. Prior to this, you were the CFO at the Swiss testing and inspection company SGS. What surprised you most about Kühne, and what changes have you made or advanced since taking office?