OC Oerlikon Sells Textile Machinery Unit to Rieter in CHF 850m Deal

OC Oerlikon has agreed to sell its Barmag textile machinery business for manmade fibers to Rieter, in a transaction valued at CHF 850 million, including an upfront equity purchase price of CHF 713 million and a conditional earn-out of up to CHF 100 million. The deal positions Rieter as a global leader in both natural and manmade fiber technologies and marks a strategic refocus for OC Oerlikon on its core surface solutions business.

Barmag, which generated CHF 734 million in sales in 2024 and employs approximately 2,600 people, specializes in filament spinning systems, texturing machines, BCF systems, and nonwoven solutions. Its brands—Oerlikon Barmag, Oerlikon Neumag, and Oerlikon Nonwoven—serve key textile markets including China, India, Türkiye, and the United States, with development centers in Germany and China.

The acquisition will allow Rieter to expand its capabilities in the growing manmade fiber segment, complementing its core short-staple fiber machinery business. According to Rieter, the transaction is accretive to both its growth trajectory and performance, and is expected to enhance its geographic reach, reduce market cyclicality, and strengthen its presence in Asia-Pacific.

“The combination will form a market leader in the textile industry,” said Thomas Oetterli, CEO of Rieter. “It will create value for shareholders, customers, and employees.” Georg Stausberg, CEO of Barmag, added: “We will benefit from each other’s market understanding, technology expertise, and complementary offerings.”

To finance the acquisition, Rieter secured a bridge loan facility and plans to refinance it via a fully underwritten CHF 400 million rights issue, a CHF 77 million private placement, and bank financing. The company’s largest shareholders, PCS Holding AG and Martin Haefner, have committed to participating in the capital increase. An extraordinary general meeting is expected in late 2025 to approve the issuance.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q4 2025.

Homburger advised OC Oerlikon on all legal aspects of the transaction. The team was led by Daniel Hasler and included Anna Peter, Nicola Togni, Simone Schmid, Oliver Kneubühl, Matthias Müller, Yannick Reber, Fabio Gasser, and Raphael Linder (Corporate / M&A), Dieter Grünblatt and Peter Müller (Tax), Richard Stäuber and Nicolas Stocker (Competition), Lorenzo Togni (Capital Markets), and Jürg Frick (Financing and Investment Products).

Lenz & Staehelin acts as lead counsel to Rieter. The team is led by Tino Gaberthüel and Simone Ehrsam (both M&A) and includes Lukas Held, Arnold Romero, Andrin Scherrer (all M&A), Patrick Schleiffer, Patrick Schärli, Martina Pavicic (all Capital Markets), Marcel Tranchet, Sven Infanger (both Finance), Astrid Waser, Sandro Travaglini (both Antitrust), Lukas Morscher, Lukas Staub (both IT, Transitional Services), Peter Ling, Anna Züst (both IP), Anja Affolter Marino and Elena Nauer (both Employment).

Alantra acted as exclusive financial advisor, while UBS served as Sole Global Coordinator, Sole Bookrunner, and Sole Manager for the capital increase