Tidbit of M&A

1 Guilder coin

Example of product of ISEM

One of the monetary units that has now disappeared because of the unification with the Euro is the Dutch guilder. By the way, Both Nauta, our first M&A acquisition, and Freeco, Nauta's next competitor, were located in the Netherlands. Freeco was looking to acquire Isem, a precision machining company that was part of Akzo Nobel.

The recession that hit Europe in 1982-83 had a big impact on this company and Akzo was looking for a buyer. When we told them that we would buy the company for the price of a finger, they thought it was one guilder, and we had no choice but to say that we couldn't divide it up because there were two people in charge here, and as a result, we decided to do the M&A for two one guilder coins, which is about 140 Japanese yen. On the face of it, it was a cheap deal, but unlike the USA, the Netherlands has strict employment conditions and it is not easy to dismiss local staff. In addition, the company had been losing money for a long time. After negotiations, it was agreed that Akzo would take over the 30 employees, the remaining staff would remain employed for three years, Akzo would continue to supply processing services to Isem for two years, and Akzo would assume all liabilities. However, the company had no cash and was operating at a loss. However, with the help of skilled workers, the company was able to turn a profit after two years.

Later, these three companies were united to form Hosokawa Micron Europe BV, which increased our market share in Europe. Today, the company has changed its name to Hosokawa Micron B.V. and has its own office and factory in Doetinchem, The Netherlands.