Deloitte Corporate Finance Advisory acted as exclusive financial sell-side advisor on the sale of Swiss and Austrian Machine Tool Distributor TOLUS Group AG to Japanese Marubeni Corporation
About the transaction
Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter “Marubeni”) has acquired 100% of the issued shares of TOLUS Group AG (hereinafter “TOLUS”), which engages in the sale and maintenance of machine tools, peripheral equipment, and automation systems in Switzerland and Austria, making it a wholly owned subsidiary (hereinafter the “Acquisition”). Through this Acquisition, Marubeni will make a full-scale entry into the European machine tool sales market.
Machine tools are vital equipment that form the foundation of all manufacturing industries. The global machine tool market is estimated at approximately USD 90–100 billion, and demand for parts machining for AI data centers, next-generation semiconductors, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment is expected to continue increasing as generative AI becomes more widespread. As a foundation supporting these cutting-edge hardware products, the importance of high-precision machining technology is increasing further. Europe is the world’s second-largest market for machine tools, and within Europe, Switzerland and Austria host major industries such as luxury watches, medical devices, automobiles, and industrial machinery.
The Deloitte Corporate Finance Advisory team – Reiner Schwenk (Managing Director), Lutz Illichmann (Director) and Jan Morawietz (Assistant Director) – acted as lead financial advisor, Jens von Loos (Managing Director) provided Debt Advisory Services. Dan Wood (Partner), Frederikke Gartmann (Senior Manager) and Marco Wasser (Consultant) provided financial transaction services to TOLUS.
In this transaction, Deloitte successfully and seamlessly delivered integrated cross-border transaction advisory services to its client. The acquisition of TOLUS by Marubeni marks another successful transaction of Deloitte’s well proven Japan deal corridor, underpinning Deloitte’s true global reach and access to decision makers around the world.
About Tolus Group AG
For more than 50 years since the founding of its predecessor companies, TOLUS has handled machine tools – including products from leading Japanese manufacturers – in Switzerland and Austria, and has sold more than 5,000 units in total. In the precision machining sector, centered on the watch industry, TOLUS has established a strong position in both countries by leveraging its engineering capabilities, which enable it not only to supply machine tools but also to propose automation systems that contribute to labor saving and higher efficiency.
About Marubeni
Marubeni Corporation is one of Japan’s largest sōgō shōsha (general trading companies), operating globally in over 60 countries. Founded in 1858, it is a major investment and trading conglomerate dealing in food, agriculture, energy, metals, machinery, and infrastructure.
For over 70 years, Marubeni has been selling Japanese machine tools that are indispensable for high-quality manufacturing, and has been focusing on the global deployment of Japan’s outstanding technologies. The company has expanded its sales regions to the United States, Mexico, Vietnam, Brazil, India, and other countries. In addition, in order to provide high value-added solutions that address the need for automation, efficiency, and environmental responsiveness in the manufacturing sector, Marubeni has been expanding its engineering capabilities through M&A. By promoting the sharing of know-how across regions and the mutual complementarity of operations, the company is working to further evolve and expand its business platform in the machine tool sector.
About Deloitte Corporate Finance Advisory
As a leading independent M&A advisor, we provide M&A deal execution and financial advisory services to large and mid-market corporations, as well as to private equity firms globally. We offer financial advice and insight at every stage of a transaction – from consideration of strategic options to transaction execution and successful Signing & Closing, be it an acquisition or divestment or debt restructuring. We pride ourselves in our independent advice to our clients.