Aurelius Equity Opportunities have acquired Wex Photographic from Barclays. Following the deal, Wex will be merged with Calumet Photographic, a multi-channel photographic retailer acquired by Aurelius in June 2016. Servicing half a million customers across the UK, Wex is the country’s largest online specialist photographic retailer, with an annual turnover of €84 million. The integration with Calumet will offer significant strategic benefits to both companies with scope to couple Wex’s online expertise with Calumet’s pan-European in-store experience.

Aurelius Press Release

AURELIUS acquires Wex Photographic

• Online retailer with half a million customers across the UK
• Integration with Calumet Photographic to offer significant synergies and create leading multi-channel, pan-European photographic retailer
• Combination of Wex Photographic with Calumet Photographic brings AURELIUS’ pan-European photographic retail businesses to combined revenues of EUR 175 million

Munich/London, 2 March – AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8) (“AURELIUS”) today announces the acquisition of leading photographic retailer Wex Photographic (“Wex”) from Barclays, for an undisclosed sum. Following the deal, Wex will be merged with Calumet Photographic (“Calumet”), a multi-channel photographic retailer acquired by AURELIUS in June 2016, to create a leading omni-channel offering servicing the enthusiast and professional photographer market across the UK and Europe with combined revenues of over EUR 175 million.

Servicing half a million customers across the UK, Wex is the country’s largest online specialist photographic retailer, with an annual turnover of EUR 84 million. The integration with Calumet will offer significant strategic benefits to both companies with scope to couple Wex’s award winning, online expertise with Calumet’s pan-European in-store experience. Once combined, these factors will create a strong multi-channel business that will serve both the UK and the wider European market, supported by the firms’ complementary management teams and organisational infrastructure.

AURELIUS Vice President Eric Blumenthal, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce this acquisition of Wex, a high-caliber business and AURELIUS’ second investment in the specialist photographic retail sector, following that of Calumet last year. This highly synergistic acquisition demonstrates AURELIUS’ commitment to supporting and scaling our initial investment in Calumet, and also testifies to our continued interest and dedication to investing in UK businesses, post-Brexit.”

David Garratt, CEO Wex Photographic said: “The Wex team is very excited to be working alongside both AURELIUS and the Calumet team to develop and expand our existing strategy for the business. The combined business will be able to offer customers a genuine multi-channel experience and, by leveraging Calumet’s in-store expertise, significantly expand our leading online offering to a wider customer base in the UK.”

Christof Bergmann, Managing Director of Calumet Photographic, commented: “This further investment in the photography retail market by AURELIUS represents its continued commitment to the development of Calumet Photographic since its acquisition in June of last year. Wex’s leading positioning in the UK market, as well as its award winning online business, will substantially reinforce our Pan-European offering.”

ABOUT AURELIUS

AURELIUS Group is a pan-European asset manager with offices in Munich, London, Stockholm and Madrid. Over the last ten years AURELIUS has grown from a local turnaround investor to an international multi-asset manager investing in a wide range of sectors and across the capital structure.

AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA (ISIN: DE000A0JK2A8, Ticker Symbol: AR4) represents the listed entity within the AURELIUS Group that focusses on investing in Special Situations and MidMarket transaction opportunities. AURELIUS Equity Opportunities currently has 23 portfolio companies located across Europe which employ around 25,000 people and generate annual revenues of more than EUR 4.0 billion. The shares of AURELIUS Equity Opportunities are traded on all German stock exchanges with a market capitalisation of c. EUR 2 billion as of February 2017.

With its group charity AURELIUS Refugee Initiative, AURELIUS provides comprehensive support for refugees on their way towards a better life.

About Wex Photographic

Wex Photographic, established in 1997, is the UK’s leading online photo retailer, focused on meeting the needs of enthusiast and pro photographers and videographers. Wex’s dedication to service, expertise and customer satisfaction is underpinned by competitive prices and the largest range of any UK photo and video retailer, with over 17,000 products. The Wexphotographic.com website is complemented by a highly knowledgeable customer contact team, its Norwich showroom, and extensive online content. Customers can contact Wex seven days a week by phone, email, live chat, social media, or in person.
In September 2015, Wex Photographic acquired Fixation, the country's leading repair workshop for Canon and Nikon photographers, also offering equipment rental, advice and sales from its base in Kennington, London.
This focus on customer success has made Wex the UK's largest online photographic specialist and winner of many accolades, including ‘Retailer of the Year’ as voted for by readers of Digital Photo / Practical Photography magazines for the past six years, plus numerous other service awards for over 15 years.
Wex was voted ‘Online Shop of the Year’ by Which? readers in October 2014, shortlisted for ‘Retailer of the Year’ by Which? in 2015, and certified as one of only three Recommended Providers in its ‘Electrical Online Retailer’ category in 2016.

About Calumet International Ltd.

Calumet International Ltd. represents over 70 years of experience in photography. Calumet is a leading multi-channel retailer of both branded and own-label digital and analogue photographic and video equipment with 17 locations across Europe, including six in Germany and eight in the UK.

Calumet is the best starting point for those who want to produce perfect images, whether for business or pleasure. It offers an expansive range of photography products and services, informed advice, and personalised customer service, both online and in store, to photography enthusiasts, professionals, and companies alike. Calumet’s broad assortment of cameras, lenses, bags, tripods etc. is complemented by its extensive selection of lighting equipment and post-processing products, such as monitors, printers, and software. In addition, Calumet provides its customers with in-store testing and expert advice, rental options, workshops, sensor cleaning, and numerous other services that distinguish it as a unique all-service photography retailer.

Calumet’s staff shares its customers’ passion for photography. Colleagues use their comprehensive knowledge of the subject to deliver an enjoyable purchasing experience and help customers produce images the way they want.

Your Comments