HANIEL AS A FAMILY-EQUITY-INVESTOR

We are

Value
Developers

As a family-equity company Haniel is building a portfolio with market-leading companies. The rule is: We combine the professionalism of a private equity investor with the understanding of the values of a family business.

Haniel has set a goal of growing the portfolio to up to ten equity investments. Only those investments that fit with the Company and its values are considered. To that end, an acquisition filter serves to examine the extent to which potential business models make a contribution to the diversification of the Haniel portfolio, are sustainable and viable for the future, and generate a reasonable value contribution. Our goal is to find companies that can develop into market leaders with our help. We support the growth of our portfolio companies. There is no blueprint for this; rather, we find an individual path for each division. We analyse precisely the current stage of the company’s growth and identify the core strategic themes. Portfolio companies in an early business stage receive prioritised support through investment capital and expertise in financing, corporate governance or human resources. We offer mature companies targeted added value, such as with respect to digital transformation. In this manner we are able to successfully develop the potential of each investment to the furthest extent possible – this is what makes us a value developer.


DIVISIONS AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS

Overview

HANIEL’S PORTFOLIO

As a family-equity company Haniel is building a portfolio with market-leading companies. The rule is: We combine the professionalism of a private equity investor with the understanding of the values of a family business.

Division

bekaertdeslee

100%

EQUITY INTEREST

BekaertDeslee is a globally leading specialist for the development and manufacturing of woven and knitted mattress textiles and ready-made mattress covers.

Division

cws-boco

82.19%

EQUITY INTEREST

CWS-boco ranks among the leading international full-service providers of individual washroom hygiene and textile solutions.

Division

elg

100%

EQUITY INTEREST

ELG is a global leader in the trading, processing and recycling of raw materials for the stainless steel industry as well as high performance materials such as superalloys, titanium and carbon fibres.

Division

Optimar

100%¹

EQUITY INTEREST

Optimar is a global leader for automated fish handling systems for use on ships, on land and for fish farms.
¹ Management plans on an equity investment in 2018.

Division

Rovema

100%

EQUITY INTEREST

ROVEMA is a global leader in the manufacturing of packaging machines and equipment for a wide variety of products and applications.

Division

TAKKT

50.25%

EQUITY INTEREST

TAKKT bundles a portfolio of B2B direct marketing specialists for business equipment in Europe and North America in a single company.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

ceconomy

25.00%

EQUITY INTEREST

CECONOMY is Europe’s leading platform for companies, concepts and brands in the sector of consumer electronics.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

metro

22.50%

EQUITY INTEREST

METRO is one of the leading international companies in the wholesale and food service sector.


This section includes the following GRI indicators:


Corporate

Responsibility

Enhancing value – living out values – in line with this principle, Haniel has been combining entrepreneurial drive with a stable core of values for 260 years. Accordingly, corporate responsibility is deeply ingrained in the company’s DNA and is adhered to in equal measure by the owner family and the management. This means combining economic success with responsibility for employees, society and the environment, thereby creating value over generations.

The Holding Company places its focus where it has leverage: In developing and managing equity investments. Haniel lays down guidelines and principles for CR management in the divisions. The Holding Company identified the expectations of the relevant stakeholder and interest groups in a systematic stakeholder dialogue in 2013. The results were used to derive a CR management approach and a CR organisation in order to successfully anchor sustainability in the corporate structure. The Holding Company continues to adhere to its proven CR management approach.

Clear definition of Haniel CR action areas

While taking into account expectations placed on an appropriate CR organisation as well as those peculiarities of a diversified group of companies with decentralised management which make Haniel unique, content continues to be accentuated. Common CR action areas and individual initiatives are discussed in dialogue with the divisions. Haniel’s Management Board and the management teams of the divisions agree on objectives and measures and discuss progress in regular top management meetings. In this way, the Holding Company ensures that the portfolio companies continually review how their business activities affect the environment and society.

This GRI report is based on the three CR action areas – Employees, Value Chain and Innovation – for the last time, since these are based on the Holding Company’s first stakeholder survey and materiality analysis from 2013, which is currently under review. This review is a result of the experiences and further developments collected by Haniel in recent years in the field of corporate responsibility, as well as a change in the CR organisation: The responsibility for coordinating CR activities in the Holding Company and the Haniel Group was transferred in 2017 from “Shareholders and Sustainability” department to Strategic Investment Controlling. In addition, new external requirements make an adjustment necessary. This includes in particular the European Union’s CSR Directive and the corresponding German implementing legislation.

Based on the above, in 2017 the Holding Company initiated an additional process of determining the material topics with respect to environmental, employee and social issues, as well as respect for human rights and combating corruption and bribery. Starting from the materiality analyses already conducted, the CR experts in the Haniel Group identified these topics, which were then coordinated between top management at the divisions and the Haniel Management Board. The result is published online in the separate report on the non-financial statement at the corporate websites.