CWS Fire Safety has acquired Hefas Brandbeveiliging

Amsterdam – Corporate Finance International (“CFI”) is delighted to announce that it has acted as the exclusive corporate finance advisor to CWS Fire Safety, part of CWS Group, in the acquisition of Hefas Brandbeveiliging (“Hefas”).

CWS Fire Safety, the youngest CWS division and employing already around 500 people is an important contributor for the goal of the CWS Group of creating a healthier and safer tomorrow. As a full-range supplier of fire protection solutions, CWS Fire Safety is aiming at operators of all types of real estate. The focus is on high quality and reliable service, as well as personal support and customer proximity.

CWS Fire Safety is a brand of CWS Group. The group has approximately 11,000 employees in 15 countries. In 2020 the company achieved a turnover of c. EUR 1.2 billion. CWS Group is a portfolio company of Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH.

Hefas, located in Duiven in the Netherlands, is a CCV-certified company for fire alarm and fire detection systems operating throughout the Netherlands. The company advises, maintains and certifies products of a wide variety of brands. Hefas has around 2,000 systems in operation in different end-markets like governmental institutions, health care organisations and hospitality. The company has a special focus on fire alarm systems.

With this transaction, CWS Fire Safety sets foot on Dutch soil with its first acquisition outside of Germany, marking another milestone in the company’s growth strategy. Hefas is a perfect match for CWS Fire Safety, as it also offers its customers a full range of fire protection services for all types of property from a single source. “The exchange on the acquisition with Hefas was highly professional. Hefas is in a very good organisational and economic position, which has led to an efficient acquisition process”, says Daniel Koller, Lead M&A at CWS Fire Safety. Not only in the Netherlands, but also in other European countries, discussions are ongoing with companies that are active in the field of fire protection or security technology.

CFI and CWS discussed potential targets for a market entry in the Netherlands. Early 2021, CFI initiated the discussions with Hefas, which ultimately resulted in a successful transaction closed on 10 June 2021. Daniel Koller commented on CFI’s role in the transaction: “We worked with CFI in earlier processes and we like their great track-record in middle-market transactions in combination with the proactive approach. They did a great job in screening the market and approaching potential partners.“