Astorg acquires a majority stake in ETH spin-off AutoForm

Astorg, one of the most successful independent private equity companies in Europe, has acquired a majority stake in AutoForm. With its strong focus on European growth-oriented technology companies, Astorg has an impressive track record in the area of structuring and performing succession arrangements of mid-sized companies similar to AutoForm.

Growing rapidly since 1995
AutoForm was founded in 1995 in Zurich, Switzerland. Since then, AutoForm has grown continuously and rapidly, and the company is now recognized as the leading provider of software solutions for die design and sheet metal forming simulation. Accoring to its website, Autoform has 300 employees and branches in 15 countries. Its software suite is the only integrated solution covering the entire engineering process chain for sheet metal parts and provides valuable support for key decisions in simultaneous engineering. Today, over 3’000 users in more than 700 companies – including all of the top 20 automotive OEM brands – trust in and rely on AutoForm for their key engineering and manufacturing operations.

Dr. Waldemar Kubli, CEO of AutoForm, stated: “AutoForm is convinced that with Astorg on board, long-term development for the company, its employees as well as its customers and partners is ensured. AutoForm’s strategy, management and goals will remain the same and the company will continue to operate independently in the market, maintaining a strong focus on further growth. AutoForm remains a reliable, long-term partner for sustained customer success”.

GCA Altium acted as exclusive financial advisor to the shareholder of AutoForm. Sascha Pfeiffer, Managing Director of GCA Altium, commented: “For GCA Altium, this transaction exemplifies our strong sector expertise in the Technology sector. Our extensive software sell-side track record and knowledge in the application software space as well as our excellent global network enabled us to help AutoForm find the right partner for its future growth.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.