What investment strategy does Franz Haniel & Cie focus on?

Franz Haniel & Cie focuses on Buyout strategies in the private equity space.

How many portfolio companies does Franz Haniel & Cie have?

Franz Haniel & Cie has 14 active portfolio companies and 4 completed exits and 1 fund tracked on GP Intel.

Where is Franz Haniel & Cie headquartered?

Franz Haniel & Cie is headquartered in Duisburg, Germany.

What is Franz Haniel & Cie's assets under management?

Franz Haniel & Cie manages approximately €2.5B in assets under management.

When was Franz Haniel & Cie founded?

Franz Haniel & Cie was founded in 1756.

What sectors does Franz Haniel & Cie invest in?

Franz Haniel & Cie invests across Business Services, Consumer, Industrials, Healthcare.

What are Franz Haniel & Cie's recent exits?

Recent realized exits by Franz Haniel & Cie include: Metro (2025) to EP Global Commerce; Optimar (2024) to Kaldbakur; ELG (2021) to Aperam; Celesio (2014) to McKesson.

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Franz Haniel & Cie

Duisburg, Germany·Founded 1756·

Buyout

·haniel.de

Franz Haniel & Cie. is a wholly family-owned investment holding based in Duisburg and founded in 1756, pursuing an enkelfaehig (grandchild-proof) family-equity strategy with around ten platform holdings such as CWS, TAKKT, BekaertDeslee, ROVEMA, Emma The Sleep Company, BauWatch and KMK kinderzimmer, complemented by growth-capital minorities. The group generated EUR 4.1bn revenues in fiscal 2025 with around 21,000 employees and carried EUR 2.5bn of group equity at end-2024. Landmark realizations include Celesio (held since 1973, sold to McKesson 2014), ELG (since 1983, sold to Aperam 2021), the staged Metro divestment and the 2025 Ceconomy tender to China's JD.

AUM

€2.5B

Funds

vintages 1991

Portfolio

Exits

Franz Haniel & Cie is a Duisburg buyout firm with €2.5B AUM, 14 active companies and 4 exits.

SectorsBusiness Services Consumer Industrials Healthcare

Key takeaways

·3 exits in the last 5 years · consistent DPI cadence.
·Average hold across 4 realized deals: 36 years.

Sector breakdown

18 companies

Industrials

4 · 22%

ClimateTech

3 · 17%

Business Services

3 · 17%

Consumer

3 · 17%

Pharma

1 · 6%

E-commerce

1 · 6%

Education

1 · 6%

SaaS

1 · 6%

Geography breakdown

5 geographies

Germany

14 · 78%

Latvia

1 · 6%

Netherlands

1 · 6%

Belgium

1 · 6%

Norway

1 · 6%

Key facts

HQDuisburg, Germany

Founded1756

Employees21,255+

Websitehaniel.de

Recent exits

Franz Haniel & Cie sold Metro to EP Global Commerce in 2025 after 59 years.

Franz Haniel & Cie sold Optimar to Kaldbakur in 2024 after 7 years.

Franz Haniel & Cie sold ELG to Aperam in 2021 after 38 years.

Franz Haniel & Cie sold Celesio to McKesson in 2014 after 41 years.

Partners

Joachim DreesCEO

Henk DerksenCFO

Coverage notes

1 fund tracked, 18 portfolio companies (14 active · 4 realized). Verified weekly from public filings and deal announcements.

Investment team

Senior partners. Hand-checked from public filings and the firm's own site.

Joachim Drees

CEO

Henk Derksen

CFO

Funds & portfolio

Every fund Franz Haniel & Cie has raised, with its portfolio companies. Hand-checked from public filings.

1 fund

Fund

Strategy

Vintage

Size

Assets

Exits

Haniel Family EquityActive

Evergreen1991€2.5B14 assets4 exits

Evergreen

1991 · 35yr

€2.5B

Unrealized

14 held

Company	Entry
1komma5 ClimateTech · Germany	2022
Aerones ClimateTech · Latvia	2022
BauWatch Business Services · Netherlands	2021
BekaertDeslee Industrials · Belgium	2015
Ceconomy Consumer · Germany	2017
CWS Group Business Services · Germany	2017
ecoworks ClimateTech · Germany	2023
Emma Sleep (Bettzeit) E-commerce · Germany	2020
Emma The Sleep Company Consumer · Germany	2020
KMK kinderzimmer Education · Germany	2021
Rovema Industrials · Germany	2017
Sdui SaaS · Germany	2023
Takkt Business Services · Germany	1999
Wandelbots Deep Tech · Germany	2020

Realized

4 exits

Company	Entry	Exit	Type	Buyer	MOIC
Celesio Pharma · Germany	1973	2014	Trade Sale	McKesson	–
ELG Industrials · Germany	1983	2021	Trade Sale	Aperam	–
Metro Consumer · Germany	1966	2025	Trade Sale	EP Global Commerce	–
Optimar Industrials · Norway	2017	2024	Trade Sale	Kaldbakur	–

Frequently asked questions

What investment strategy does Franz Haniel & Cie focus on?: Franz Haniel & Cie focuses on Buyout strategies in the private equity space.
How many portfolio companies does Franz Haniel & Cie have?: Franz Haniel & Cie has 14 active portfolio companies and 4 completed exits and 1 fund tracked on GP Intel.
Where is Franz Haniel & Cie headquartered?: Franz Haniel & Cie is headquartered in Duisburg, Germany.
What is Franz Haniel & Cie's assets under management?: Franz Haniel & Cie manages approximately €2.5B in assets under management.
When was Franz Haniel & Cie founded?: Franz Haniel & Cie was founded in 1756.
What sectors does Franz Haniel & Cie invest in?: Franz Haniel & Cie invests across Business Services, Consumer, Industrials, Healthcare.
What are Franz Haniel & Cie's recent exits?: Recent realized exits by Franz Haniel & Cie include: Metro (2025) to EP Global Commerce; Optimar (2024) to Kaldbakur; ELG (2021) to Aperam; Celesio (2014) to McKesson.