Certina Holding AG

What Certina Holding AG does

Certina Holding AG is a Germany-based, family-owned industrial holding company that operates as a long-term-oriented private equity investor focused on special situations. Its mandate spans carve-outs, turnarounds, restructurings, and succession situations, with target companies typically generating €50-500 million in revenue and exhibiting EBITDA losses up to approximately 5%. The firm pursues a "buy, build, and hold" strategy, seeking majority control positions (ideally greater than 75%) with equity tickets of up to €20 million per transaction and deal-size capacity stretching to €500 million.

The investment platform is organized around five stated verticals — Industrials, Packaging, Automotive, Consumer Goods & Services, and Software (including Industry 4.0 themes) — with a stated global presence tilted toward Europe. Active portfolio support combines management expertise, sector knowledge, and an international network to drive operational restructuring, strategic repositioning, and market strategy development in portfolio companies. The Managing Partner for the Consumer Goods & Retail vertical, Holger J. Schmidt, is the only named investment principal in publicly available materials.

Visible execution to date centers on an Italian industrial consolidation: Certina completed the turnaround of Demm, a historic gear-manufacturing company, and in April 2023 acquired Nuova TMR, a transmission-shaft producer, to expand the product range and create cross-portfolio synergies. The firm employs 51-100 staff across its Munich and Gruenwald locations, and operates a corporate website (certina-group.com) under the "CERTINA GROUP — The Sustainable Investor" brand positioning.

Name

Certina Holding AG

Legal name

Certina Holding AG

Website

https://certina.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Certina Holding AG is a Germany-based, family-owned industrial holding company that invests in special situations — carve-outs, turnarounds, restructurings, and succession cases — targeting majority stakes in European companies generating €50-500 million in revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity / Special Situations Holding

NAICS

Offices of Other Holding Companies (551112), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Separate Accounts & SMAs (Mandates) (FSAAAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business Owner & Executive Financial Planning (FSAEAAAO)

Keywords

• Private equity investing
• Turnaround investments
• Special situations
• Buy-and-build strategy
• Industrial holding

Headquarters

HQ city

Weißenburg In Bayern

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Certina Holding AG operates as a long-term oriented industrial holding company that acquires majority stakes in business units and subsidiaries requiring operational improvement, applying a buy-and-build strategy across carve-outs, turnarounds, restructurings, and succession situations. It invests up to €20 million of equity per company in targets with €50-500 million in revenue, providing active operational, strategic, and management support throughout the holding period.

Product overview

Certina Group operates as a long-term oriented industrial holding company focused on special situations and turnaround investments. The investment management service forms the core offering, implementing a buy-and-build strategy for sustainable growth. The portfolio currently includes Demm (a historical gear manufacturing company) and Nuova TMR (a transmission shaft producer), both acquired as part of Italian market consolidation efforts. The company targets business units with operational improvement potential in the €50-500 million range, with equity investments up to €20 million per transaction, focusing on majority control positions in manufacturing, packaging, automotive, consumer goods, and software sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Certina Group Investment Management (Special Situations & Turnaround Holding) Long-term oriented industrial holding service that acquires majority stakes in business units and subsidiaries requiring operational improvement, focusing on carve-outs, turnarounds, restructurings, and succession situations across manufacturing, packaging, automotive, consumer goods, and software sectors in the €50-500 million revenue range.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Nuova TMRcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2023Nuova TMR is an Italian company specializing in transmission shaft production. Certina Holding acquired Nuova TMR as part of a market consolidation strategy in Italy. This acquisition follows the successful turnaround of Demm (a historic gear manufacturing company) and aims to create synergies and expand the product range across the portfolio.
• DemmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDemm is a historic Italian company in gear manufacturing that Certina Holding successfully restructured and turned around. The successful turnaround of Demm demonstrates Certina's operational restructuring capabilities and established the foundation for subsequent acquisitions in the Italian market consolidation strategy.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mutares SE & Co. KGaA: Munich-based turnaround investor specializing in carve-outs and operational restructuring of European industrial companies; directly comparable by mandate type (turnaround/special situations) and European mid-market focus.
• Waterland Private Equity: European mid-market buy-and-build investor with strong DACH presence; comparable in long-hold orientation, operational value creation thesis, and industrial/healthcare sector focus.
• Lindsay Goldberg: Family-business-friendly PE sponsor investing in multi-generational industrial and business-services companies; comparable by family-succession focus and long-hold approach.
• IK Partners: European mid-market PE with strong DACH presence investing in industrial and business-services companies with operational improvement theses; comparable by geographic footprint and company-size band.
• CORDATUS Capital Partners: Special-situations investor focused on European mid-market distressed and turnaround situations; comparable by special-situations mandate and DACH/Central European deal flow.
• Equistone Partners Europe: Pan-European mid-market PE sponsor with strong DACH/German industrial portfolio; comparable by deal-size band (€50-500M), geography, and industrial sector focus.
• Aurelius Equity Opportunities: German-listed special situations and turnaround investor focused on European mid-market operational carve-outs and restructurings - the closest publicly traded analog to Certina's mandate and geographic focus.
• Deutsche Beteiligungs AG: Frankfurt-listed mid-market PE firm focused on German Mittelstand industrials with operational improvement orientation; comparable by geography, company-size band (€50-500M revenue), and industrial sector tilt.
• Silverfleet Capital: European mid-market PE with long-hold, operational-improvement orientation toward family/founder-owned businesses; comparable by mandate type and family-succession deal sourcing.
• Arques Industries AG: German turnaround specialist acquiring underperforming Mittelstand industrial companies - directly comparable by sector (German/European industrial), mandate (turnaround), and company size.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Certina Holding AG