In principle, Ellen and Henrik Laugesen could have found a buyer for their company Kemic Vandrens A/S themselves.

The company is a major player in water technology, designing waterworks and developing special solutions to purify 'difficult' water. Among other things, Kemic Vandrens has developed one of the country's best full-scale plants for cleaning the perpetual chemical PFAS/PFOS - both in wastewater and drinking water.

Contacted by several interested buyers

This type of business is attractive and Ellen and Henrik have often been contacted by interested buyers.

But finding the right buyer and making an optimal deal. They couldn't do that themselves. They needed professional advisors to facilitate a structured sales process and find the right future solution.

"We had no doubt that we needed help with this. We couldn't control the dialog with the potential buyers who regularly called us. It got away from us, so in the end we just said no thanks," says Henrik Nybro Laugesen.

Read also: Avoid five pitfalls when selling your business

Wanted an advisor who was realistic and serious

Instead, Ellen and Henrik set about finding an advisor they could trust. They spoke with several advisors and chose Business Broker.

"It was important to us that the broker was both realistic and serious, and when we met Business Broker time, we knew we were a good match. The focus here was on finding the best possible solution, not only for us as sellers, but also for the buyer," says Ellen Hausted Laugesen.

Addtech was the best possible buyer of Kemic Water Purifier

The solution was the best possible one.

In early January 2024, the Swedish group, Addtech AB, took over Kemic Vandrens A/S to everyone's satisfaction. Several things apply:

• Addtech has the resources to further develop the technologies and expand the market.
• Kemic Vandrens A/S continues under its own name, in the same place and with the same skilled employees.
• Addtech was prepared to recruit a new CEO and let Ellen and Henrik continue their work in the company on reduced hours.

"Business Broker found a buyer for our company that offers everything we wanted: respect for our employees, our customers, and everything we have developed together over many years. It's about much more than just money," says Henrik Laugesen.

Ellen Laugesen adds:

"We have created a good workplace and many employees have grown with it. If it was a 'classic' private equity fund that had bought us for resale, there was a risk that the whole thing could have fallen apart. And we wouldn't want to read about that in the news in ten years' time."

Water technology is an attractive market for acquisitions

John Nygaard from Business Broker how to select the best buyer candidate:

"Water technology is an attractive market that will develop because clean drinking water is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Investors know this. That's why we had a range of potential buyers that we could present the company to in a short time. Then we could slowly narrow down and select the most optimal one - and that was Addtech," he says.

Addtech is a Swedish listed industrial group with a focus on technology and sustainability. It owns more than 150 companies.

"From the first meeting, Addtech came across as decent people who were committed not only to the numbers, but also to the company's employees, product and market. Moreover, they already had competencies in water technology from some other companies they own," explains John Nygaard.

Advantage with two advisors from Business Broker

It was a very sober process where both parties wanted each other and there weren't many obstacles in the way.

"There has been a mutual understanding that we need to reach each other. It went completely according to the script for a structured sales process," says Klaus Termansen.

As always, the negotiations were handled by two advisors from Business Broker. In this case, John Nygaard and Klaus Termansen. This is something that Ellen and Henrik Laugesen have really appreciated.

"The combination of the two personalities is a huge strength. What one can't do, the other can. They work hard for the cause, and when it comes to a critical moment, they leave no stone unturned to clarify possible solutions for the buyer and seller. They are actually loyal to both buyer and seller and find pragmatic solutions to move the process forward," says Henrik Laugesen.