IK Partners to sell Bahr Modultechnik to IMI

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap II Fund (“IK SC II”) has reached an agreement to sell its stake in Bahr Modultechnik (“Bahr” or “the Company”) to IMI plc (“IMI”).

Bahr is a leading manufacturer of modular positioning systems, used in a wide range of process automation applications.

Founded in 1990 by the brothers Frank and Dirk Bahr in Luhden, Germany, the Company focuses on delivering individual solutions based on a sophisticated portfolio of customisable and technologically leading products. Accurate and robust positioning systems are required in a wide variety of high-growth markets in relation to automation, including pharma production, packaging and labelling, as well as warehouses, factories and other specialised applications. The Company has approximately 80 employees and its unique linear positioning systems are sold in more than 24 countries around the globe.

IK invested in Bahr in May 2018 and, since then, the Company has focused on organic top-line growth, strengthening its sales capabilities and team. A modern CRM system was rolled out to support this and provides full transparency of sales performance. In addition, the Company reinforced its commercial leadership by developing a strategic approach to sales through the optimisation of reporting structures and processes, together with clear roles and responsibilities of team members defined. With further product developments targeted at niche applications, Bahr is well placed to continue its accelerated growth path.

Dirk Bahr, Founder and Co-CEO of Bahr, commented: “We are delighted to have enjoyed a successful partnership with IK, which has seen Bahr grow significantly in a short space of time. Having strengthened our sales team and developed our digital marketing capabilities, we look forward to entering the next phase of growth with IMI by our side.”

Cihan Halavurt, Co-CEO of Bahr, added: “Over the past few years, IK has introduced added-value initiatives to the Company through the optimisation of several key processes, specifically with regards to sales and marketing. With their help, we have professionalised our go-to-market approach and are now equipped with the right tools and data that allow us to continue growing in both a profitable and sustainable way. With IMI, we have found the ideal partner and can leverage both companies’ products and customer networks at a global scale with immediate effect.”

Nils Pohlmann, Partner at IK and Advisor to the IK SC II Fund, added: “It has been a pleasure working with the team at Bahr for the past four years. The business has a very sophisticated product portfolio and we are proud to have supported the Company on their journey of becoming a more robust, customer-centric organisation, especially with regards to the bolstering of their salesforce and related capabilities. We wish them well as they continue with a new partner.”

Roy Twite, CEO at IMI, said: “We are truly impressed with Bahr’s leadership and its record of consistent growth. Their unique modular system, coupled with their customer-centric approach and ability to engineer application-specific solutions, aligns nicely with our own business model. We are therefore excited for Dirk, Cihan and the team to join us. Together we will be able to offer customers across the world solutions to their automation requirements.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar
Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193
vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com