CIM Capital goes to court over Van Hool bidding process

Anyone who thought that the Van Hool story was over will be disappointed. The Belgian investment company CIM Capital wants to reopen the bidding process for the ‘Industrial Vehicles’ department of bus builder Van Hool from Lier.

According to Marc Van Hool’s investment fund, his own bid for the trailer division did not get a fair chance.

CIM Capital points out that its offer was “substantially better in all areas than the offer from Schmitz Cargobull that the trustees chose.”

For example, CIM Capital wanted to take over the department in its entirety and give it a fresh start, so that 550 of the 750 jobs could be retained. Schmitz Cargobull aims for 350 jobs. The offer was also better on a financial level, it sounds, and CIM Capital also wanted to take over the real estate.

CIM Capital is known as a leading Belgian ‘rescue specialist’ and owns Veritas, Neckermann, and soon most likely Zoute Grand Prix. MandA recently spoke with Erik Verkest, CEO of CIM Capital, about their unique proposition in the Belgian market.

Van Hool’s curator has not yet responded.