The story behind Liberta Partners
Spring 2016, in the heart of Munich. Dominik Lanz, Dr. Christian Szczesny and Dr. Peter Franke made a decision: to build their own private equity firm. Said and done. On September 1, 2016, Liberta Partners went live. Even if not literally true – what we really wanted was freedom. And we wanted to enable companies to regain theirs.
Six weeks later came the first signing: SKYTRON ENERGY GMBH, a SaaS provider for PV monitoring. A last-minute, high-stakes deal. The first weeks were challenging, and many things went wrong. But we stayed committed, took on responsibility, and expanded Skytron globally into seven countries. 18 months later came the successful exit. Skytron became our first proof of concept.
In 2019, we launched Fund II with EUR 37.5 million. With Nils von Wietzlow and Florian Korp, two partners with a strong mid-market track record joined the team. The focus shifted toward hands-on buyouts. With companies such as FMA Mechatronic Solutions, Kienzle Automotive GmbH, Ameropa-Reisen GmbH, forteq Nidau AG, Medas factoring GmbH, and KKS Kemmler Kopier Systeme GmbH as the nucleus of the NOBIX Group, our portfolio grew substantially. Together with the management teams, we have since taken these companies to a new level. The successful sale of Novelex Group marked our second proof of concept.
At the same time, our team grew to nearly 20 colleagues – and our core team remains strong to this day. One great example is Laurenz Tebbenjohanns. He started as an intern at Liberta Partners and today, as an Investment Manager, leads his own transactions. A path that reflects what we aim to enable for our portfolio companies as well: develop, grow, take on responsibility.
Of course, there were setbacks. Covid hit us right after the investment in Ameropa-Reisen GmbH – a challenging period that we mastered together. And during the insolvency of PHOENIX Armaturenwerke GmbH, we experienced a breach of trust. A difficult experience, but one that ultimately made us stronger.
In 2023, we launched Fund III with a volume of EUR 75 million – closed in only two months. 95% of our investors from Fund II joined again, many with an increased commitment.
Today, amec GmbH, CBW College Berufliche Weiterbildung GmbH, Avenir Group, KOMI Group GmbH, DeinDeal AG, and Negotiation Advisory Group have joined our growing portfolio.
Along the way, we’ve learned a lot. Especially the challenging moments have pushed us forward. Our perspective on investments has sharpened, we’ve become more focused on the development of our companies, and we’ve built a team with deep experience. We make this expertise increasingly accessible to our management teams – now further enhanced through AI.
What remains unchanged is our focus on the middle class with development potential in the DACH region – on small-cap buyouts and carve-outs with substance. And just as before, our heart beats for the middle class and for driving our companies to the next stage of their journey.
Our story is far from over…