Transaction summary

AMSTERDAM, 25 November, 2021 – TBAuctions is acquired by Castik Capital. The auction house is currently still in the hands of a group of minority shareholders, including the Dutch investment company Bencis. An acquisition price has not been disclosed.

With the new owner, the auction house wants to grow into one of the largest online auction houses in Europe. The eighty-year-old Troostwijk is now one of the largest auction houses in the Netherlands and merged with BV Auctions in 2018. The merged company is active in 10 European countries. In recent years, TBAuctions auctioned, among other things, the inventory of the bankrupt Slotervaart Hospital and the Miss Etam stores. Last year 13,000 auctions were held with a total net annual auction sales of € 440 million euros.

“Three years ago we began our journey with TBAuctions with a clear ambition to disrupt and reinvent the auction industry by delivering on our promise. Nothing of value should be lost. We build a new scalable auction platform with maximal digitalized workflow processes in order to fulfill the demands from our sellers to the max. And also in order to fulfill the needs of our bidders. At present with € 440 million of total net annual action sales, 13,000 annual auctions, 2,750,000 annual lots and more than 10 million visitors per monthly’s. Today we are proudly introducing our new shareholder Castik Partners” says TBAuctions CEO Herberth Samsom.

“With Castik, our objective is to become a leading platform in the auction industry in Europe. The growth ambition of TBAuctions is recently demonstrated in the acquisition of Vavato, a leading player in the market of Belgium auction houses. With our powerbrands Troostwijk, BVA-Auctions and now Vavato and a team of nearly 450 auction talents we will continue to bring sellers and bidders together in the most transparant and cost effective way”

The market for auction houses is fragmented. TBAuctions’ competitors include the Dutch Catawiki and the American Richie Bros. Unlike TBAuctions, they offer items from a limited number of sectors, says Samsom. “We want to become the first major European platform with a wide range of goods: from agricultural machines to iPhones. That is why it is important to make significant investments in IT, marketing and data. That is possible with Castik.”

TBAuctions also has the ambition to grow in the coming years by making acquisitions in Northwestern Europe. According to Samsom, Castik has not set growth targets, but he hopes that the turnover and the number of bidders will increase by “200 to 300 percent” in the coming years.

Emendo Capital acted as financial adviser to Castik Capital.

About TBAuctions

TBAuctions is a leading online auction house that is active in 10 European countries with € 440 million net annual auction sales. TBAuctions operates under multiple brands including Troostwijk for industrial goods and BVA Auctions focused on consumers and SME. TBAuctions’ state-of-the-art online platform auctions goods and real estate on behalf of public authorities, relief organisations such as the UNHCR, banks, receivers, lease companies, marketplaces, traders, industrial companies and other businesses.

For additional information on TBAuctions, visit https://tbauctions.com/

About Castik Capital

Founded in 2014, Castik Capital focuses on identifying and developing investment opportunities across Europe. The investments are made by the Luxembourg based EPIC funds. The first fund, EPIC I, has a volume of € 1 billion and was raised in 2014 / 2015. The second fund, EPIC II, had its final close in October 2020 and a volume of € 1.25 billion. The Castik employees have extensive knowledge and experience in the Private Equity markets, with a team that has been actively investing in transactions for over 25 years.

For additional information on Castik Capital, visit https://www.castik.com/

About Bencis

Bencis is an independent investor that supports owners, entrepreneurs and management teams in realizing their growth ambitions, both organically as well as via acquisitions.

Since its inception in 1999, Bencis has invested in 62 companies with an average transaction value of c. € 60 million. Furthermore, Bencis has acquired over 190 companies as add-ons to these companies. The current portfolio consists of 24 companies with a combined turnover over € 1.9 billion and that together employ approximately 9,600 employees.

For additional information on Bencis, visit https://www.bencis.com/en/