PLUTA insolvency administrator Daniel Barth finds buyer for brewery plant engineering company Banke

Restructuring expert Mr Daniel Barth from PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH has secured an investor for Banke GmbH, an innovative supplier of technology for breweries, as part of a structured M&A process. Under the acquisition concept, the buyer will acquire the business and keep on 16 employees. Attorney Mr Barth is handling the proceedings together with business lawyer Mr Maximilian Wanko. The parties signed the related purchase agreement in the past week.

Swiss-based Bucher Industries, an experienced, publicly listed industry specialist in mechanical and plant engineering with a global presence, is acquiring the business operations of Banke GmbH. Mr Friedrich Banke, founder and managing director of Banke, will remain on board.

“Business operations have been maintained. Despite the challenging situation, we have continued and successfully completed numerous projects, including several across Europe. I would especially like to thank the employees, whose strong commitment and professionalism have been instrumental to the outcome now achieved,” said attorney Mr Daniel Barth. On 27 May 2025, the Local Court of Landshut opened the insolvency proceedings and appointed Mr Barth as administrator. Mr Maximilian Wanko added, “Due to the successful continuation of the business and, in particular, Banke GmbH’s cutting-edge technology and strong reputation in the brewing industry, we managed to attract the interest of a large number of international investors during the M&A process. With Bucher Industries, we are pleased to have found a sustainable solution that will preserve Banke GmbH’s technologies and safeguard employees’ jobs.”

50 manufacturing locations and development sites worldwide

Through the machines and solutions it develops, Bucher Industries makes a sustainable contribution to feeding the world’s population, producing and preserving beverages and building, maintaining and cleaning infrastructure. The group employs more than 14,000 people worldwide, with business segments covering agricultural machinery, municipal vehicles, hydraulic components, production facilities for the glass container industry, beverage manufacturing systems and automation solutions. The business headquartered in Niederweningen, Switzerland, operates more than 50 manufacturing locations and development sites across five continents and also has several distribution companies.

Going forward, Banke will operate in the market as part of Bucher Unipektin within Bucher Specials, one of Bucher Industries’ five divisions. The experienced employees from Banke’s current site in Taufkirchen (Vils) will therefore continue to work on innovative solutions. Mr Daniel Schneider, managing director of Bucher Unipektin, said, “The acquisition is an ideal fit for our group’s beverage segment. With this transaction, we are building on the product portfolio of our Czech subsidiary Bucher Denwel and continuing to pursue our growth strategy.”

Banke GmbH based in Taufkirchen (Vils) supplies state-of-the-art systems for the brewing industry. For many years, Banke has been a leader in hop technology covering the entire brewing process, especially late and dry hopping.

M&A advisor Dr Michael Saatmann from INTRION Gesellschaft für Managementberatung mbH assisted with the targeted search for an investor. Dr Julius Beck from law firm Grub Brugger provided legal advice during the contract negotiations.