German investment firm Skion acquires 20% stake in Netherlands-based water technology supplier Paques

BALK, The Netherlands, Jan. 11, 2012 (Press Release) - Skion GmbH, the investment firm of German entrepreneur Susanne Klatten (BMW, ALTANA, SGL), acquires a share of 20% in water technology company Paques from the Netherlands.

SKion realizes this position via an acquisition of shares from the existing shareholder (Pâques family) and a capital increase. In the Supervisory Board of Paques, SKion will be represented by Dr. Reinhard Hübner.

Rob Heim, CEO of Paques: "We welcome the new shareholder. For Paques, it is a valuable asset to have two long-term oriented, family-owned shareholders. Furthermore, the transaction helps to accelerate Paques' continuous investment in innovation and it increases the pace of implementation and valorization of new technologies. Besides product development, Paques also intends to strengthen its market position, in particular in the important German market, but also in growth markets like Brazil, India and North America."

Jos Pâques, founder and major shareholder of Paques:"Paques is committed to work on the major challenges of today: to reduce water and carbon footprints and reclaim valuable resources. We have the ambition to continue making a major contribution to these challenges. With SKion investing in our company, we are able to further strengthen our innovative power and accelerate the implementation and valorization of new technologies."

Dr. Reinhard Hübner, investment manager SKion GmbH:"Paques is a leading global innovator in biotechnological purification systems for wastewater and gas. By applying Paques' technologies, customers in all kinds of industrial sectors significantly improve their environmental footprint. The partnership with Paques underlines our aim: SKion invests in cutting-edge technologies dedicated to the challenges of tomorrow. Water technology is one of the business areas that meet our criteria."