Small- to Mid-Cap Private Equity

Focus on equity investments of typically EUR 3 m to EUR 30 m in small & mid-sized businesses in the DACH-region combined with the experience of more than 100 transactions.

  • Investments

    Ownership successions, corporate spin-offs, changes in the shareholder structure, special situations with increased complexity including (very selectively) underperformance situations, and growth financing

  • Growth

    Strong focus on worldwide growth potential and buy&build opportunities (markets with consolidation potential). We support building defensible market positions, recurring revenues and premium products

  • Approach

    Controlling equity stake (MBO / LBO) and board seats along with strong management teams

  • Regional Focus

    We focus on the DACH-region, especially Germany, but seek global add-ons. Our offices are located in Frankfurt and Munich

Partners

The highly experienced HBL partners consistently built their successful track record in the German small / mid cap market.
Dr. Peter Hammermann
Dr. Peter Hammermann
HBL InvestmentPartners Founding Partner & Managing Director
Dr. Hammermann started his career with Robert Bosch GmbH and BHF Bank. In 1995, he was a founding partner of a German mid-cap private equity house. In 1998, he founded the German business of Barclays Private Equity, now Equistone Partners, a leading European small / mid-cap private equity house. His leadership roles included positions as Managing Director Europe, Member of the Management Board Europe, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Europe for 20 years.
Jens Bender
Jens Bender
HBL InvestmentPartners Founding Partner & Managing Director
Jens Bender completed his training as a bank officer at HypoVereinsbank AG followed by a degree in Business Administration (Diplom-Kaufmann) at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. His career in Corporate Finance began in 2001 and included, among others, positions at Bankhaus Metzler/Metzler Corporate Finance. He was Deputy Head of the Mid-Cap M&A team at Commerzbank AG from 2007 to 2012 before co-founding cf:M together with Jörg Leussink in 2012.
Jörg Leussink
Jörg Leussink
HBL InvestmentPartners Founding Partner & Managing Director
Jörg Leussink earned a Degree in Business Administration (Diplom- Kaufmann) at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main before starting his career in 2000 with Bankhaus Metzler/Metzler Corporate Finance. He was Senior Director in the M&A team at Commerzbank AG from 2007 to 2012 and co-founded cf:M in 2012 together with Jens Bender.

Unique Combination

cf:M

Jens Bender and Jörg Leussink founded the small- and mid-cap corporate finance advisory firm in 2012 after having worked at Bankhaus Metzler and Commerzbank for over a decade. cf:M is focused on small- and mid-cap M&A-advisory in the DACH-region.

Private Equity

To complement cf:M’s service offering and to further professionalize the investment business with family offices, HBL InvestmentPartners GmbH was founded in 2018 together with Dr. Peter Hammermann, one of the pioneers of the private equity business in German-speaking countries over the past 20 years.

HBL InvestmentPartners

In July 2018, the partners closed their first investment with the acquisition of TCT TechnikCentrum Thale GmbH. Since then, three further investments have been made.

OUR POSITION

  • Exceptional small and mid-cap DACH private equity market presence
  • 25 years of exceptional market position
  • Consistent above-average performance
  • Unique deal flow set-up

"We strongly believe in the power of matching human expertise and leadership to each business opportunity for long-term success."

Investment Criteria

 

  • Typical equity investments between EUR 3 m to EUR 30 m – specific cases may exceed this amount
  • Strong focus on (worldwide) growth potential and buy&build opportunities (consolidation potential)
  • Experienced and entrepreneurial management
  • Controlling equity stake (MBO / LBO) with board seats
  • Defensible market positions, recurring revenues, & premium products
  • Focus on DACH-region, especially Germany, neighboring countries on an opportunistic basis

Investments

  • AWT Umwelttechnik GmbH

    AWT
    • AWT is a manufacturer of environmental plant components (especially scraper bridges) and of stainless steel swimming pools and
    • The company’s range of services covers the entire value chain – from planning and modeling to production, design, testing and acceptance of components and machines
    • AWT generates sales of approx. EUR 20 million
    • AWT was acquired in 2021

    awt-eisleben.de

    AWT
    AWT Umwelttechnik GmbH

  • Zahnen Technik GmbH

    Molekuele der Zahnen Technik GmbH
    • Zahnen Technik is a leading provider of process engineering solutions in the field of water and wastewater treatment active in Germany and Benelux
    • The company supports its customers with regard to optimization, modernization and construction of water and wastewater plants. With more than 100 reference plants, the company has decades of experience in plant engineering
    • As a competent solution provider, the experienced team of Zahnen Technik also develops new innovative processes and products for wastewater management, especially in the areas of digitization, standardization and the 4th waste water treatment stage.
    • Zahnen Technik generates sales of approx. EUR 35 million
    • A majority stake in Zahnen Technik was acquired in 2021 together with the management team

    zahnen-technik.de

    Molekuele der Zahnen Technik GmbH
    Zahnen Technik GmbH

  • ZWT Wasser- und Abwassertechnik GmbH

    • ZWT is a leading, medium-sized provider of efficient technical solutions in the water and wastewater sector with over 250 systems implemented in the last 20 years
    • ZWT has extensive experience in the fields of process engineering, construction technology, mechanical engineering and EMSR technology in water and wastewater plant construction
    • ZWT generates sales of approx. EUR 15 million
    • ZWT was acquired in 2019 together with the management team

    zwt.de

    ZWT Wasser- und Abwassertechnik GmbH

  • TCT TECHNIKCENTRUM THALE GMBH

    • TCT is a national provider of engineering services in terms of planning, construction, project management and commissioning of mobile communications infrastructure
    • The expertise of TCT includes the complete installation and integration of system technology and directional radio systems, especially for mobile networks. 
    • The customers of TCT include the largest mobile operators in Germany, e.g. Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone
    • TCT was acquired in 2018 in an MBI-transaction as part of a succession solution
    • TCT generated sales of approximately EUR 40 million in the year of the acquisition
    • After implementing a growth strategy, TCT successfully managed to increase its sales by more than 50% and also its margins
    • TCT was sold to EQOS Energie, a Triton Partners portfolio company, at the end of 2021

    eqos-kommunikation.com

    TCT TECHNIKCENTRUM THALE GMBH
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