STS Group, the specialist engineering company headquartered in Waterford, has been acquired by Dussmann Group. Terms were not disclosed but media reports suggest the deal is worth €50m.

STS will remain an independent subsidiary within the Dussmann Group and c.700 staff will not be affected by the deal.

The senior management team of STS, which is headed up by company founder Eddie Walsh and managing director Richard Hogan, will also remain with STS in their existing roles post acquisition.

Dussmann Group is headquartered in Berlin and was founded in 1963. The group’s services span facilities management, nursing and childcare, refrigeration systems sales, as well as sales of books, musical instruments and films.

Dussmann Group employs 66,000 people worldwide and has annual turnover of more than €2bn.

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STS Group was founded by Eddie Walsh in 2006 and specialises in the provision of electrical engineering and instrumentation services. The Waterford firm’s clients are drawn mainly from the pharmaceutical, data centre, utility, healthcare and transport sectors.

Most of STS Group’s business comes from clients based in Europe, although the firm also has operations in the Middle East. The company, which reported sales of €150m in 2018 is unlimited so does not furnish annual balance sheet statements.

Eddie Walsh was previously managing director and a shareholder of Suir Engineering, which was sold in 2007 to Imtech in a deal worth a reported €30m. Walsh netted some €7.5m from that deal, according to media reports at the time.

Commenting on the acquisition of STS by Dussmann, Walsh said that it will provide “great opportunity” for STS clients and employees. “Our clients will continue to enjoy the same level of superior service but will also benefit from the increased scale and investment as part of a larger group,” he said.

“Similarly, our employees will find increased opportunity provided by the ambition of Dussmann for the company and the ability to generate new business in new regions and sectors.”

Davy Group’s Nicholas O’Gorman, director of corporate finance, acted as advisor to STS Group for the Dussmann deal. “This transaction represents a great deal for all parties and will underpin the future of a highly successful Irish company as part of a thriving and well capitalised group, with huge ambitions for growth in the sector,” he said.

Photo: Eddie Walsh (second from right), pictured with (l-r) Dussmann Group's Stephan Possekel, Catherine von Fürstenberg-Dussmann and Dr Wolfgang Häfele; and Eddie Walsh, chairman of STS Group