MCF advises founders of CruiseVision on capital increase and partial sale to BWK
MCF advised the founders of CruiseVision GmbH on a capital increase and the sale of a stake in the company. CruiseVision GmbH is a full-service agency for high-quality travel photography and films aboard international cruise ships. The stake was acquired by BWK GmbH Unternehmensbeteiligungsgesellschaft (BWK), a long-term oriented institutional investor backed by, among others, state-owned LBBW bank and Wüstenrot & Württembergische Group. MCF facilitated the transaction with a careful approach of selected investors and a customised process structure that allowed potential buyers to gain deeper insights into the company ahead of due diligence.
The Deal
BWK was founded in 1990 and specialises in investments in mid-market and family owned corporates. It has a long track-record as a partner for the German Mittelstand. The firm supports successful businesses with a strong management team and a leading market position in their future growth strategy and is focused on the German-speaking countries. BWK’s portfolio companies are not sponsored by capital from funds with limited duration, but with permanent capital provided by its shareholders. Thus, in contrast to many other Private Equity companies, BWK’s investment horizon is not predetermined. BWK’s investment and the related capital increase will facilitate CruiseVision’s future growth by enabling an international roll-out of their services as well as product innovations.
The Target
CruiseVision GmbH, founded in 2009 by Christian Paulick and Mirko Berloge, is a full-service agency for high-quality travel photography and films onboard international cruise ships where it operates media terminals using innovative face recognition technology. In addition to displaying pictures of guests, the screens can be used for promotional and other commercial content. On each ship the TV-crew captures the current journey and guests aboard. Films are produced over the course of the entire cruise trip and passengers can view the latest versions on on-board television sets. At the end of the cruise the passengers can buy the film – either on DVD/Blu-ray, on a USB-Stick or via download-link. The company reaches over 25,000 passengers per day on 14 vessels operated by i.a. TUI Cruises, Hapag Lloyd and Pullmantur Cruises. The company also provides film and media solutions and produces image films, web TV and TV documentaries for TV, advertising and industry.
