Press Release
Patrimonium Private Equity and Wille Finance acquire majority stake in :em engineering methods AG
Baar (CH), May 8, 2024– Patrimonium Private Equity and Wille Finance acquire a majority stake in :em engineering methods AG (“:em AG”), a specialized consulting company and IT solution provider for digital transformation headquartered in Darmstadt (DE)
With the new platform investment, Patrimonium Private Equity is acquiring another participation in the digitalization, IT and software sector. This shows the increased focus on business models characterized by technological change in high-growth sectors.
Specialized, fast-growing service and solution provider for increasing the competitiveness of industrial companies
Consulting on the digital transformation of engineering and manufacturing companies in the area of product lifecycle management and the introduction of “digital twins” is an attractive growth market. True to the vision “We deliver the digital future for engineering”, :em AG supports the implementation of digital transformation and thus, among other things, increases efficiency, productivity, agility and shortens time to market.
With a team of over 100 experts and a focus on the DACH region, :em AG covers the entire product life cycle and the underlying enterprise architecture of blue chip and medium-sized companies with a comprehensive portfolio of consulting services and IT applications, including the self-developed, AI-supported SaaS solution ReqMan® in the area of requirements management. :em AG has a strong presence in the industrial and automation, mobility and transportation, electrical and information technology, aerospace technology, medical technology and life science sectors.
The aim of the investment is to implement :em AG’s further organic and inorganic growth strategy by further developing its industry coverage, expanding its service and technology portfolio, geographical expansion and scaling its own software solution.
Continuity through participation and strong involvement of the founding team
The previous owners of :em engineering methods AG, Dr. Erik Claassen, Christian Donges, Dr. Sven Kleiner and Dr. Marcus Krastel, will remain on board as managing directors and significant co-owners and will implement the jointly defined strategy in the long term.
“In line with our vision and encouraged by approaches from strategic buyers, we have looked closely at finding the ideal partner for our next growth step. The partnership-based, entrepreneurial and sustainable approach and the many years of experience of Patrimonium and Wille Finance in the successful further development of owner-managed companies convinced us right from the first meeting – we are highly motivated to continue developing :em AG in the driver seat together with our partners,” says Dr. Sven Kleiner, explaining the choice of partners.
“The specialist positioning in a growth market, the customer-centric approach and the added value of :em services for industrial companies impressed us right from the start. In the face of increasing competitive pressure, the industry has recognized the need to digitalize its processes along the product life cycle. With the management team, we have found four partners who are eager to take the company to the next level together with us,” adds Philippe Knüsel from Patrimonium Private Equity.
In addition to the activities in the digitalization and IT sector with Grouplink, TestSolutions and now :em engineering methods AG, the portfolio of Patrimonium Private Equity includes HübnerKTB (surface technology) and Octo Actuators (electric drive systems) in Germany as well as B+G Switzerland (gardening and landscaping) and the Roth Group (building insulation and fire protection) in Switzerland. The Patrimonium Private Equity team has advised on over 20 platform investments in the DACH region and over 50 add-on acquisitions.
