Wendel invested €171 million in Stahl in 2006. 20 years later it walked away with €1.14 billion in net proceeds after selling the company to Henkel for €2.1 billion according to Wendel.
When Wendel bought in Stahl was making €316 million in revenue and €44 million in EBITDA an EBITDA margin of around 13.9%. By 2024 revenue had grown to €930 million and EBITDA had reached €181 million pushing the EBITDA margin up to around 19.5%. That is roughly 3 times the revenue, 4 times the profit and a 550 basis point improvement in margins over 2 decades.
A big part of that growth came through acquisitions. Stahl bought Clariant Leather Services in 2014, BASF Leather Chemicals in 2017, ICP Industrial Solutions Group in 2023 and Weilburger Graphics in 2024.
In 2018 Wendel also acquired an additional 4.8% stake in Stahl from Clariant for €50 million bringing its total investment in the company to €221 million.
Stahl also separated its wet end leather chemicals business into a standalone company now called Muno which Wendel still majority owns. That left Stahl focused purely on specialty coatings.
ALSO READ: Muno Launches as Independent Wet End Leather Chemicals Company After Stahl Carve Out
Stahl employs around 1,800 people globally and generated adjusted sales of €725 million in fiscal year 2025.
Wendel reported a net investment multiple of 6.3x and an annualised IRR of over 15% since 2006. Wendel also received €427 million in cash from Stahl between 2006 and 2025 before the final sale.
EBITDA margin calculations are estimates derived by the Leathernews.org team based on revenue and EBITDA figures published by Wendel. These figures are for indicative purposes only.
ALSO READ: Henkel Completes Acquisition of Stahl
