Gilde / De Oliebron

Considerable growth opportunities

The management buyout of Socaz opened the door to considerable growth opportunities. To seize these, the organization implemented a three-year investment program aimed at increasing production capacity. Although Socaz had virtually no spare capacity at the time of the buyout, capacity had increased by more than 50% by 2009.

In addition to organic growth, Kroon-Oil successfully acquired two other oil producers. The first, Putoline Oil, was acquired in 2008. Putoline is a leading brand of motorcycle lubricants, first established in the 1970s. The second, VAT Oil, was acquired in January 2010 with the aim of strengthening Kroon-Oil’s position in Eastern Europe.

Socaz comprises two lubricant specialists. De Oliebron is a lubricant manufacturer, and primarily focuses on the Netherlands,Belgium and Germany. In its capacity of problem solver, De Oliebron offers clients more than 16,000 different product-packaging combinations. In contrast, Vatoil is a pure sales and marketing organization. Vatoil branded lubricants are sold all over the world, from the Netherlands to Taiwan and Russia.

Gilde Equity Management (GEM) Benelux is an independent private equity firm with over 30 years of experience. Since 1996, we focus exclusively on the Benelux mid-market segment, whereby we invest in international companies based in the Netherlands and Belgium.

We team up with entrepreneurial managers to create highly successful businesses, enabling them to acquire and expand the organizations they work for. Over the years, we have invested in a large number of companies with activities in a wide range of sectors (see our investments).

The funds we invest have been entrusted by reputable financial institutions from around the world.  The average transaction size varies between 15 million and 150 million euro. We maintain offices in Utrecht and Antwerp.