Callista Private Equity GmbH (“Callista Private Equity”) announces the acquisition of the operational business and assets of the Ledvance Eichstätt site by Aurora Lichtwerke GmbH („Aurora“), a Callista Holdings GmbH & Co. KG affiliate. Aurora takes over all relevant assets including the 333 employees through an asset deal and will continue the current business operations with a location guarantee until 2023 in Eichstätt.
Aurora Lichtwerke GmbH is a manufacturer of LED and Halogen lamps in different models for a variety of applications, such as classic indoor lighting, runway lighting, medical lamps and other innovative lighting solutions. Up to now, the vast majority of products was manufactured under the brands Osram and Ledvance. Within the future, Osram and Ledvance will remain important customers. Nevertheless, Aurora will also focus on the acquisition of new customers from now on.
Due to current legislative initiatives, Halogen lamps are (partially) banned within Europe and other parts of the world. Moreover, Ledvance and Osram made strategic decisions to source their products predominantly from China in the future. These two aspects led to a decreasing production volume in Eichstätt and subsequently the decision of Ledvance to close the Eichstätt site until end of 2020.
Thanks to the constructive collaboration with the employee representatives and the union IG Metall, an alternative solution could be achieved. With Callista Private Equity as the new owner of the Eichstätt site and its network of industry experts and partners, new possibilities for the future development of the site and the employees can be developed.
The carve-out of the site from Ledvance already started after the signing of the purchase contracts beginning of May 2020 and will be continued within the upcoming weeks and months until Aurora Lichtwerke is capable of operating fully independently. The management team will be complemented by a new CEO, Dr. Roland Michal, a long-standing expert from the lighting industry, who will be responsible for the strategic realignment and development of the company. Additionally, new positions such as accounting, sales and purchasing will be created to replace the current group services.