Why Virthos?

  • We build businesses and take companies to the next level in their development. Strategic and operational transformation is the key to their success - this often requires investment in personnel and infrastructure and must not be burdened by excessive debt.

    We work in close partnership with the leadership teams of the companies in which we invest, providing not only capital but also hands-on support.

    We invest our own capital in each business; our interests are therefore fully aligned in the long-term value generation with our managers and investment partners.

    We understand the “Mittelstand” culture and entrepreneurship and are therefore the right partner for business founders who are looking for a good steward for their lifetime’s achievement. They often re-invest together with us to support the next phase in their company’s growth.    

    Our entrepreneurial spirit is mirrored in our investment partners whose wealth predominantly originates from creating world-class businesses and therefore understand our investment philosophy. 

  • Industrial:
    We only invest in industries and situations we understand well.

    We have decades of experience of investing in niche players for industrial products and services. These businesses differentiate themselves from their competitors through technological leadership and strong customer focus and hold a defensible market position. Often, their products are already sold in international markets but with significant room for further global expansion.

    We have particular experience in the following attractive industry segments:

    o   Industrial automation technology
    o   Testing & measuring instrumentation
    o   Fluid technology
    o   Industrial safety & emergency relief 

    and have portfolio companies in each of those industries.

    We are supported by seasoned industry experts who we invite to join the Board of our companies.

    Size:
    We typically invest equity amounts of €10-50 million into businesses with enterprise values up to €100 million.

    We invest in businesses that have a track record of profitable growth, and generate strong cashflows and an EBITDA between €3-15 million. 

    Region:
    We focus on investments in the DACH region of Europe. Within our focus sectors and for our portfolio companies we are active in other European countries.

    Succession:
    We are focused on acquiring companies in succession situations, i.e. when the entrepreneur or family owners are looking to pass their business to a new good steward. We are experienced in accompanying those complex succession situations and managing the leadership transitions. Our long-term orientation and the role of family offices as trusted investment partners are in this context valuable and differentiating assets to us.

  • It takes time and patience …

    … to realise a company’s strategic objectives and enable transformational change     

     … for realising a company’s long-term growth potential and ensuring sustainable value creation

    … while accomplishing at the same time a successful transition from the private entrepreneur or a family-ownership to a new shareholder structure.

    The development of our investments is therefore not restricted to a short holding period, as it is typical for closed-end private equity funds. We partner predominantly with family offices as investment partners who understand businesses and industries and share this long-term investment focus.   

  • With ownership comes responsibility.

    We pride ourselves in creating attractive and equal employment opportunities and contributing to a strong corporate culture of each business. We acknowledge our responsibility for the environment and are conscious to make a positive contribution to society.

    We are aware that our actions have multiple impacts. ESG and Sustainability are for us not just labels to pay lip service to – they are an essential part of our daily business. 

  • The Virthos team combines more than 50 years of experience in private equity investing, profound expertise in the industrial sector, a broad network of relationships in particular in the German-speaking regions of Europe, as well as a very good understanding of “Mittelstand“ companies and succession situations.

     We are passionate about growing our businesses. We work hard and expect the same from our management team partners. We always aim for above-average returns for our investors and have thereby the interests of all stakeholders in mind.