Press & news

• 2021: Number of employees increased by around 20 percent, 4 exits, 8 follow-on acquisitions and 1 platform investment implemented
• ESG management further strengthened, CO2 emissions reduced by more than a quarter
• 2022: Single asset continuation fund for ]init[ realised
• Outlook: Double-digit growth expected again

Munich, 23. June 2022: EMERAM Capital Partners, one of the leading investment managers for medium-sized companies in the German-speaking countries, looks back on a strong business performance in 2021 and expects another strong growth in 2022. The companies in the portfolio will continue their expansion course throughout the current year unabated. EMERAM therefore again expects double-digit growth and has also successfully implemented its first transactions, including a single asset continuation fund for ]init[ AG.

The six portfolio companies, held by funds advised by EMERAM, increased their turnover by around 30 percent in 2021. This still increased the pace of growth compared to 2020, with an increase in turnover of around 17 percent at that time (cumulated, based on the current portfolio in each case). The number of employees increased by 20 percent in 2021 (nine percent in 2020). In addition to strong organic development, follow-up acquisitions also contributed to the success of the companies: For example, the portfolio company Officium continued its consolidation course with four acquisitions in the market for metering services. In total, in 2021, the portfolio companies realised eight follow-up acquisitions.

Numerous successful transactions
Last year, the funds advised by EMERAM acquired sofatutor, the leading digital learning platform for students in the German-speaking region (K12). In addition to the new platform investment, four exits were realised. Among others, Meona and Matrix42 were sold, while ]init[ AG gained another shareholder with Rivean Capital Advisory (formerly Gilde Buy Out Partners). A single asset continuation fund was closed for Boards & More, a leading supplier of water action sports and bicycle accessories.

Sustainability strategy further professionalised
Since its foundation in 2012, sustainable business has been a core element of EMERAM's strategy. The Munich-based investment company already introduced a portfolio-wide ESG-related reporting system in 2016. In this way, EMERAM reviews the progress of the portfolio companies in a year-on-year comparison as well as their ESG-related targets compared to best practices in the respective core sectors. The implementation of these ESG measures has, for example, reduced the CO2 emissions of the portfolio companies by around 27 percent. As a further step, EMERAM has signed the Principles for Responsible Investment of the United Nations PRI Investor Initiative, in partnership with several United Nations bodies such as the UNEP Finance Initiative.

Successful transactions and outlook 2022
"Our portfolio achieved outstanding annual results in 2021. All companies were once again able to grow significantly in terms of turnover and earnings. More than ever, our focus on the growing companies in three sectors Technology/Software, Value-added Services and New Consumer Staples as well as our position as a business development partner are paying off. As a sparring partner, we support our portfolio companies in their strategic orientation and operational optimisation as well as in important future topics such as digitalisation and sustainability," explains Dr. Christian Näther, Managing Partner of EMERAM Capital Partners. "We are currently receiving numerous enquiries from investors. Therefore, we were able to implement a continuation fund for our investment Boards & More as a milestone of the past year. Given our strong pipeline of potential investments, we are also confident that we will be able to continue on the course we set in 2021 and realise several transactions in 2022, too. For example, we have transferred our Fund I portfolio company ]init[ AG into a single asset continuation fund with the broad approval of the existing investors. This demonstrates the confidence of investors in EMERAM and ]init[ AG." In addition, the portfolio company Officium successfully concluded another follow-up acquisition in April 2022.