The Munich-based financial investor Mutares wants to acquire the Austrian special engine manufacturer Steyr Motors in the fall Frankfurt Stock Exchange bring. The bank Hauck & Aufhäuser is to place new and existing shares in a private placement with investors, as Mutares announced on Tuesday.
The company from Steyr in Upper Austria produces diesel engines that can be used to drive military vehicles and boats, but also as auxiliary units for battle tanks and locomotives. Mutares did not comment on the proceeds or valuation. But the investor wants to keep the majority. A listing in the “Scale” segment for small and… medium-sized companies.
Steyr hired Mutares, which specializes in restructuring cases, from the French company almost two years ago Defense company Thales took over, which bought the company out of bankruptcy in 2018. Today, Steyr Motors is benefiting from a special boom after job cuts: 60 percent of its sales of 30 million euros in the first nine months came from the defense industry.
For the full year 2024, the company with more than 100 employees expects sales of 41 to 45 million euros and adjusted earnings before taxes and interest (EBIT) of 9 to 11 million euros. The owner points to an order backlog of 150 million euros, which will largely ensure capacity utilization in the next few years.
Mutares is under pressure to succeed after short seller Gotham City Research published a critical report about the investor in late September. The share, which is listed in the SDax small-cap index and temporarily fell by a quarter, has since recovered significantly.