Germany

3i opened its first German office in Frankfurt in 1984 and has since been a pioneer in the German private equity industry.

Our portfolio companies come from a wide range of sectors, including a significant number of industrial and engineering companies. The Mittelstand is at the heart of the German economy and we have a particular focus on building strong partnerships with these medium-sized, largely family-owned businesses.

The companies we work with deliver profitable growth by tapping into our deep understanding of local markets, deal experience, local knowledge, broad-based sector expertise and international network.  We introduce them to experienced industrialists and senior advisers, who offer a perspective on the latest industry trends and help identify new strategies for success and value growth.

With 25 years investment experience in Germany, we have backed businesses of all sizes and in many industries.

Led by Peter Wirtz and Ulf von Haacke, our German investment professionals in Frankfurt work as one team with 3i's wider network across Europe, Asia and the US.

In Germany, we invest in a wide range of sectors and have a strong focus on Industrials, Business services, Healthcare, Consumer and Infrastructure.

Each of our business lines has a highly-focused approach to supporting companies with outstanding growth prospects:

• Buyouts (typical enterprise value up to €500m)
  We acquire majority holdings in established, mid-cap companies that have outstanding management teams and excellent prospects for growth. Often we are helping existing management teams to acquire the business they work for, enabling the spin-out of a division from a multinational corporation.
• Growth Capital
  Our Growth Capital business is the world’s leading dedicated growth investor. We invest in privately-owned, high growth, profitable international businesses across Europe, Asia and North America.  Typically we invest up to €150m in businesses with an enterprise value of up to and around €500m, taking a non-controlling minority stake. Once we have invested, we are committed to working in partnership to help our investee companies build exceptional businesses.
• Infrastructure (typical investment in the range €50m-200m)
  3i Infrastructure focuses on the full range of infrastructure assets across different stages of the asset life cycle. 3i's expertise covers structured financing in sectors that range from transport and logistics to utilities, civil engineering, social infrastructure and public private partnerships.