News

Wincor Nixdorf going public

April 27, 2004

PADERBORN, Germany--German ATM manufacturer Wincor Nixdorf plans to go public in May. According to a DW report citing company chairman Karl-Heinz Stiller, the group is "well prepared" for its listing on the stock exchange.

The manufacturer is currently controlled by the United States private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. KKR holds the majority stake in Wincor Nixdorf, with Goldman Sachs owning about 30 percent. The remaining 12 percent is held by the Wincor's own managers.

Next month's flotation will mark a return to the capital markets for the group, which had been listed until German electronics giant Siemens took control of it in 1990. It has been jointly owned by KKR and Goldmann Sachs since 1999.

According to a Bloomberg report, KKR will use profits from its sale of Wincor to finance acquisitions of other European companies. KKR has been involved in $6.2 billion of European acquisitions during the past five months, including MG Technologies AG's Dynamit Nobel, a chemicals business for which it paid 2.25 billion euros (U.S. $2.7 billion).