In September 2019, the family who own Berlin-based PLANTA Tabak-Manufaktur Dr. Manfred Obermann GmbH & Co. KG (“Planta”) were able to successfully complete the sale of the group’s main brand portfolio to Danish Mac Baren Tobacco Company A/S.

FalkenSteg Corporate Finance was brought in as the owners’ exclusive sell-side financial advisor, helping to plan and implement the international investor recruitment process.

Mac Baren CEO Simon Sophus Nielsen is pleased with the successful acquisition of the brand portfolio. “We’re very proud to have completed the acquisition of the pipe and fine-cut tobacco business of Planta Tabak-Manufaktur. The Planta portfolio includes a number of very strong and internationally renowned brands that strengthen the product range of the Mac Baren Tobacco Company. We look forward to developing and leveraging the full potential of these wonderful brands across all our markets globally”, Nielsen says.

For Nils Obermann and Lukas Stiller, the young directors of the time-tested company in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, the move was a difficult but conscious step. After sixty-three years and three generations successfully running the group, its family owners ceased tobacco production in Berlin on 31 August 2019. “Given the multitude of challenges our family has faced in recent years and the ever-increasing legal requirements, we made the strategic decision to withdraw from tobacco production”, Obermann explains.

However, the decision to shut down tobacco production in Berlin is by no means the end for Planta’s popular pipe and fine-cut tobacco brands. Brands such as Danish Black Vanilla, Holger Danske, Cellini, PL88 and Cheetah – to name but a few – will be continued by Mac Baren. “Like us, Mac Baren is a long-established family business that’s rich in tradition, and we’re delighted that the legacy of our parents and grandparents will live on”, Stiller says.

Going forward, international sales for Planta tobacco will be managed directly by Mac Baren Denmark, while German distribution will remain in Berlin at Unitas Tabakfabrik GmbH, a Planta sister company that was included in the transaction. Obermann will stay on as managing director with Unitas.

About Mac Baren Tobacco Company A/S
The Mac Baren Tobacco Company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pipe tobacco. It has been owned by the Halberg family in Denmark for over 125 years. The Halberg family office also holds additional investments in hotels, the fashion sector and industry.

www.mac-baren.com

M&A Advisory
Falkensteg GmbH
Jonas Eckhardt (Partner)
Sascha Dahlke (Director)