GERMAN FIRM ACQUIRES MINTS
Coin producers continue to merge or close as the precious metals company Heimerle und Muele Group recently announced it had acquired the coin blanking firm of Reischauer GmbH on January 12. This was quickly followed by the Heimerle company acquiring all shares of Royal United Mint, parent of Royal Dutch Mint and Osborne Mint on January 26.
According to the Heimerle und Muele website, “As Germany’s oldest gold and silver refinery, Heimerle und Meule stands for lasting values – as is reflected in our products, our philosophy and in our company’s history and traditional roots. Founded in 1845 in Pforzheim (known locally as the Golden City), our company has evolved to become one of the leading end-to-end suppliers in the precious metal processing market.”
The news of the acquisitions follows the recently announced closures of the privately owned Huguenin Mint owned by Faude & Huguenin SA in Switzerland; Pobjoy Mint in Kingswood, Surrey, England; and the Danish National Bank webshop.
Heimerle und Meule Group Chief Executive Officer Thomas Frey said of the first acquisition, “We are pleased to welcome Reischauer GmbH to the Heimerle und Meule Group. The company is a perfect fit for us and at the same time enables us to further expand our value chain in precious metals processing and offer our customers a complete product and service package from the recycling of waste materials to finished coins and medals. We look forward to the exciting growth opportunities that Reischauer GmbH offers our group with great confidence.”
Dr. Gerd Wagner will continue to manage Reischauer GmbH. Wagner said, “I am very proud of what the team at Reischauer GmbH has achieved since its foundation and look forward to a successful future together within the Heimerle und Meule Group. The latter is acquiring a company with high production capacities in the area of coin and medal minting as well as product and technology know-how that is unique in the industry. At the same time, Reischauer will benefit greatly from the upstream and downstream services provided by the Heimerle und Meule Group, its internationality, the existing network, and the high level of sales competence within the group of companies.”
The Royal United Mint is the world’s second-largest privately held industrial holding company in the production of circulation coinage. The RUM is the parent company for the Belgian Heylen Group, Royal Dutch Mint, Osborne Coinage, and the Belgian companies Tools and Dies, Mauquoy Token Company, and Royal Blanking.
The Royal Dutch Mint was founded in 1567. Osborne Coinage was established in 1835. Osborne produces blanks for other mints as well as striking commemorative and circulation coins for central banks and collectors. Osborne is also the oldest private mint in the United States.
Dutch Value Logistics is part of the acquisition. DVL uses an optimized logistics service for storing, packaging, and shipping of products for its end customers. Tools and Dies is a specialty company for customerspecific engineering services and the manufacture of punching, bending, and embossing tools.
RUM Chief Executive Officer Vincent Van Hecke acquired the token business through an additional transaction. Van Hecke now owns the Belgian companies Vista Mint, Mauquoy Token, Royal Blanking, and National Tokens. He will continue to operate them independently.
Van Hecke said of the RUM transaction, “Since the acquisition, we have made the Royal United Mint Group a globally significant and profitable provider of official monetary coins, collector and investment coins, and tokens. We are delighted to have found the ideal
new shareholder in the Heimerle und Meule Group, which will continue this successful development.”
Frey said, “The acquisition of Royal United Mint and its subsidiaries, in particular Royal Dutch Mint and Osborne Coinage, represents a total stroke of luck for the Heimerle und Meule Group in many respects: we will continue to expand in the lucrative growth market for collector coins and see significant synergy potential through vertical integration. In addition, we will be able to penetrate new markets geographically speaking and, by covering the entire value chain from recycling to the finished packaged product, we will be able to present ourselves to our customers as a full-service provider.”