GENUI, a Hamburg-based private investment firm, expects to make up to two exits this year, depending on the geopolitical situation, founder and Managing Partner Sumeet Gulati told Mergermarket.

Under normal circumstances, GENUI would plan one to two more exits this year, Gulati said. However, due to current geopolitical uncertainty, it is not yet clear how the exit pipeline will develop, he said.

“It is certainly advisable to take a moment to breathe and wait,” he added.

GENUI made its first exit this year in March, selling Westbridge Advisory from its GENUI II fund to Permira. The firm originally invested into Argentus in 2021, before it merged with Westbridge in 2022, at which time Argentus’ EBITDA was roughly EUR 3m, Gulati said. The company had an expected EBITDA of more than EUR 35m at GENUI’s exit, as reported by this news service.

The firm is also exploring sale options for its Swiss diagnostics-laboratory group, labor team, also held by GENUI II, as reported by this news service in March.

In terms of acquisitions, GENUI generally aims for between two to three per year and is looking to make up to two more in 2025 via its GENUI III fund, Gulati said. It is exploring an acquisition in sustainability at present, he said.

“The potential deal pipeline looks promising,” he added.

The firm has already made two acquisitions from GENUI III: in February this year, it acquired Aagon, a Soest-based software provider for unified endpoint management and IT security; last year, and in January, it announced it had bought  Rotop, which supplies radiopharmaceutical products.

Despite the uncertainty, the geopolitical disruption could bring positive effects as well as negative, Gulati said. GENUI sees a lot of potential for investment opportunities in Germany, especially if interest rates are lowered, Europe grows closer together, and as industry in general continues its slow recovery, he said.

Investment strategy

GENUI focuses on European companies in the digitalisation, healthcare, and sustainable industry segments that provide positive societal value, Gulati said.

These three segments offer a lot of targets with a positive impact, he said. GENUI takes an intentional positive impact into account when identifying potential targets, in addition to traditional buyout metrics, he said, and analyses each investment according to sustainability and social criteria along the Impact Frontiers norms before it makes a deal.

Depending on the segment, the firm typically invests in small- to mid-cap firms with revenues between EUR 30m to EUR 300m, he said, adding that larger investments are possible via co-investment.

Max Odefey, and MDs Oliver Serg and Gulati founded the firm in 2014 to combine their financial expertise with the entrepreneurial culture and first-hand experience of successful entrepreneurs, and co-investments are at the heart of the firm’s identity, Gulati said.

The firm is backed by seven entrepreneurs who have founded and created market-leading businesses, including Torsten Toeller, the founder of Fressnapf; Andreas and Thomas Strüngmann, the founders of Hexal and core shareholders of BioNTech; and Andreas Jacobs, who built Adecco and Barry Callebaut.

While these seven individuals function as GENUI’s co-owners, further entrepreneurs have since joined as co-investors in various deals, Gulati said. They commit funds and also support the investments by serving on boards, contributing their networks and respective expertise, he added.

For example, Klaus Weinmann, the founder of Cancom, is supporting Aagon’s development, including identifying suitable IT implementation partners.

Existing investments with a positive impact include, for example, VALEARA Group, a primarily outpatient-care provider for psychiatric, psychotherapeutic and neurological diseases that aims to provide immediate care for patients, Gulati said.

Recent exit Westbridge Advisory is also another notable example, he said. It is an energy and sustainability consultant in the European property sector, offering, for example, smart-metering advisory, energy purchasing and optimisation, and sustainable operations management, he said.

GENUI has a European mandate, focuses on the DACH region, is headquartered in Hamburg and has an office in Zurich.