Ardian acquires majority stake in LIFTKET

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, has acquired a majority stake in LIFTKET Group (“LIFTKET”) from Afinum, to support the company’s growth strategy.

As part of the transaction, LIFTKET’s management team, led by CEO Jürgen Dlugi, will reinvest significantly. Afinum will continue to support the company as a minority shareholder.

Founded in 1948 in Wurzen, Germany, LIFTKET is a leading European supplier of electric chain hoists and control systems for sensitive uses. Today, the company employs 300 people across the development, production and sale of its products, which meet the highest safety standards. The group operates internationally and serves over 800 customers in Europe, North America and other selected countries and regions.

The company is grouped into three verticals: Stage, Industrial and Renewables. Its Stage division includes LIFTKET’s ChainMaster and Movecat brands, which manufacture electric chain hoists, complex kinetics systems and control systems for almost any stage setting, including conference halls, open-air events, sports arenas, theatres and amusement parks.

It’s Industrial division primarily serves SMEs, offering tailor-made electric chain hoists for a wide range of applications. Its modular approach to manufacturing ensures LITKET’s products are fully adapted to the individual requirements of each customer. The Renewables division focuses on wind turbine maintenance, serving major wind turbine manufacturers, who together account for a large share of the world's installed wind power capacity.

The company will continue to be led by CEO Jürgen Dlugi and the experienced management team. With the support of Ardian and Afinum, LIFTKET plans to solidify its position as a market leader in Europe and North America, and expand its market share in Asia. Its growth strategy will focus on enhancing its product range with more complex control solutions, increasing its customer base and targeting select acquisitions in key markets.

“LIFTKET has become a leading player in the European market through the absolute reliability, durability and safety of our products. Based on our strong competitive position and innovative products, as well as the fundamental growth of our customer markets, we continue to see significant growth potential for our company. In Ardian, we have found a partner that will actively support us in realizing this potential. We look forward to working with Ardian and would like to thank Afinum, who will continue to accompany us as a minority investor, for their continued trust.“ Jürgen Dlugi, CEO of LIFTKET

“LIFTKET stands out for its long history of organic growth. Led by an experienced management team with highly motivated employees, its customers value the outstanding product quality, demonstrated by a very high level of customer satisfaction. The electrical chain hoists are used in critical applications where failure would involve significant safety risks or long downtimes of equipment. Combined with the company’s strong performance, its broadly diversified customer base, which operates in growing markets such as the stage sector, and the fragmentation of its international markets, has created significant growth opportunities. We look forward to working with the management team through this exciting period of expansion.”
Marc Abadir, Managing Director, Expansion at Ardian