A buyer has been found for Germany's largest wholesaler and distributor, Koch, Neff and Volckmar (KNV), which declared bankruptcy in February, Börsenblatt reported. The new owner, subject to approval by banks and competition authorities, is Zeitfracht, a family-owned general wholesaler and distributor with headquarters in Berlin. Börsenblatt described Zeitfracht as focused on national and international distribution, special shipping as well as freight and air transport. The creditors committee of KNV has approved the deal.
Bankruptcy court administrator Tobias Wahl, whose main goal this spring has been to find a buyer for KNV, whose services have been crucial to the German book trade, commented: "My team and I are very happy that we've been able to bring in Zeitfracht and set the course for a promising future for KNV. Zeitfracht is an ideal buyer, since the family owned and operated company's portfolio matches KNV perfectly. Through the mixing of know-how and use of respective strengths of both sides strong synergies will be realized."
Zeitfracht's winning bid came during a process lasting several weeks led by a mergers & acquisitions specialist. The Zeitfracht proposal won out because it was the best offer in both "economic and personal aspects."
The purchase includes all of the parts of KNV covered by the bankruptcy filing as well as KNV's subsidiary LKG, which was not part of the bankruptcy filing. The deal includes KNV's facilities in Stuttgart, Erfurt and Leipzig and the 1,600-member KNV staff.
Frank Schulze, financial director of Zeitfracht, said in part that "as a family owned and operated company, we recognize the absolute cultural value of the book. We also highly value doing business in a longterm, sustainable way. We are committed to the further development of all the parts of KNV."