In 2005, Dirk Markus and Gert Purkert, both former McKinsey consultants, founded Aurelius as a privately held investment vehicle investing in small- and medium-sized companies.
In 2006 listed subsidiary Aurelius AG (today: Aurelius Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KgaA) was set up with a start-up capital of €500,000.[2]
On 1 October 2015 Aurelius changed from a joint-stock company into an limited partnership as SE & Co. KGaA.[3]
In April 2021, Aurelius announced that it had launched a €500 million investment fund specializing in corporate spin-offs and companies in transition, whose investors include US and European university endowments, pension funds, insurance companies and family offices.[4]
Divisions
Due to Aurelius Group’s approach to buying and developing value assets, it is often referred to as the German Berkshire Hathaway.[5] It has five divisions:[6]
Aurelius Equity Opportunities
Aurelius Growth Investments
Aurelius Real Estate Opportunities
Aurelius Finance Company
Aurelius Refugee Initiative
Aurelius Growth Investments is a long-term oriented private equity investor focussed on succession solutions for small and medium enterprises in Europe.[7] Aurelius Real Estate Opportunities focuses on investments in residential, office, retail, hotel and care properties as well as multi-storey and underground car parks.[8] Aurelius Finance Company is an alternative lender providing capital to European companies.[9] Non-profit charity Aurelius Refugee Initiative e.V. Aurelius conducts a support and aid program for people with migration backgrounds.[10]
In August 2019 Aurelius carved out the European operations of ceiling tile and grids business Armstrong from Knauf International.[13] The acquisition was completed in April 2020.[14]
Additionally, in August 2019 BT Group sold BT Fleet Solutions to Aurelius.[15] BT Fleet solutions was renamed to Rivus Fleet Solutions.[16]
Aurelius acquired VAG, a Mannheim-based manufacturer of water and waste water valves from US-based Rexnord. VAG generated sales of approximately €200 million in its 2017/18 fiscal year with about 1,200 employees.[17]
In April 2021, Aurelius completed the acquisition of SSE Contracting From SSE PLC for £27 million and rebranded it to Enerveo post acquisition.
In October 2023, Aurelius announced the acquisition of LSG Group, an airline catering and retail company. [1]
in November 2023, Aurelius acquired The Body Shop, a British ethical beauty brand, from Brazilian cosmetics group Natura for £207 million. This acquisition is part of The Body Shop's ongoing changes in ownership, having been previously sold in 2006 and 2017.[24]
In November 2023, it was announced that Aurelius was one of the companies that were interested in buying online retailer musicMagpie.[25]
Significant exits
Scandinavian Cosmetics Group was sold to Accent Equity for €60 million in October 2019.[26][27]
The solid board and printed carton business of the Smurfit Kappa Group, acquired in April 2015, with production sites in the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, which was later renamed Solidus Solutions, was sold to Centerbridge in June 2019 for €330 million. This was the largest exit in the company's history to date for Aurelius.[28]
In 2017, it sold Getronics for €220 million;[29] it had been acquired from KPN in 2012.[30] That year, it also sold Secop for €185 million, which had been acquired from Danfoss in 2010.[31]
On 25 Mar 2024, SSE reacquired Enerveo from the Aurelius group for an undisclosed sum [32] SSE had previously sold the business, which was then known as SSE Contracting, to Aurelius in 2021 and due to difficulties post Aurelius acquisition, Enerveo has found it challenging to operate independently under the group. Following the repurchase, SSE will now work with Enerveo management to conduct a review to develop and implement a longer-term strategy for each part of the business.[33]
