Essen-based technology provider IFM is seeking a minority partner and plans to list on the stock exchange in the long term. “This is part of our future planning” which the company has communicated internally, said Co-Chief Michael Marhofer in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Thursday edition) in response to a request.
The company plans to sell a package of around 20% of its shares, with the aim of listing on the stock exchange in the future. Deutsche Bank has been mandated to oversee the process, which is currently in its second round. The background to this move is the fact that the board of directors will retire in about seven years.
IFM generates an annual revenue of 1.5 billion euros and is valued at a total of one billion euros in the company’s plans. A banker estimated the value of the minority stake at 350 to 400 million euros, but the company’s owners have a different expectation, said Marhofer, who wants “a bit more”.
IFM, located in Essen, was founded in 1969 by Robert Buck and Gerd Marhofer and is now family-run in the second generation by the two co-chiefs. The company offers sensors, controls, software and systems for industrial automation.