This gives your company fresh capital with which to pursue growth plans. Very often, the fresh equity opens the door to additional debt funding, enabling yet more financial headroom. This is where our cooperative network gives us an edge – for example, with growth financing through one of the VR banks. We can also strengthen your equity base still further with mezzanine financing (see Mezzanine financing).

VR Equitypartner deliberately avoids high leverage, which would burden your company with excessive debt. Of course, we also want to earn financial benefits from our investment. However, we want to do this together with you, with an intelligent growth strategy for the operational business and/or company acquisitions, rather than simply optimizing the debt financing. That would run counter to the partnership approach that has defined our relationships over the past 50 years.

This means that strategic decisions are discussed and made together. This enables us to react appropriately to market changes, expand into new markets, optimize the business model, fine-tune the sales policy or make wise technology investments. For us, respecting the experience and know-how of all the shareholders goes beyond just being polite – it is the prerequisite for a relationship built on trust.

Should you wish, we can assist your company in the professionalization of areas such as marketing, controlling or financing, in order to better achieve strategic growth targets. Avail yourself of our own operating partner team and its hands-on experience in operational matters: Our team comprises experts from a wide variety of operational backgrounds – seasoned industry managers with consulting experience. If you do not have the relevant expertise or adequate capacity in-house, we can draw on their experience to provide your company with effective support in matters ranging from the integration of acquisitions through to structural changes, operational development and growth acceleration.

Not only do you benefit from the experience of our own operating partner team but also from our comprehensive network of experts. These are often internationally experienced managers, entrepreneurs and industry specialists, who could also potentially enrich your advisory board.

This does not mean, however, that we have to exit within this time frame. We also have investments in our portfolio that we have held for much longer – and some that we have sold again within three years. As part of the cooperative financial group, we are not subject to fixed return expectations within set time periods. What matters to us is that we realize the joint growth objectives. Sometimes they are reached earlier than expected and sometimes market developments make it necessary to extend the time frame of the investment.

How we expect the company to develop and what consequences and commitments follow a later sale of the holding are both matters that we address before we come on board. This ensures you enough time to take advantage of the opportunities that a shareholder change creates. Perhaps you would like to use our exit for a succession process. Or you may want to move forward to the next growth phase. Or even buy back shares in the company. Our involvement can open up many opportunities for you and your company – the subsequent sale can in turn offer completely new options.

That said, you would not be including us in your circle of shareholders if you wanted everything to stay the same. You want to take advantage of our network of contacts and the opportunities offered by the cooperative financial group. And you want the views and experience of an outsider to help you become more professional. This is why we spend a lot of time discussing your visions for the future of your company right at the very start. The discussions may end with us simply helping you to execute the growth strategy you had already planned – or they may lead you to discover completely new opportunities that can only be realized with VR Equitypartner’s help. So, in view of the above: There will probably be changes – because your company should continue to develop.

But one thing won’t change: The entrepreneurial dynamic. This will be at least as strong as it was before and means that decisions will continue to be made quickly – which is what you are used to … especially when compared to large companies. This needs a high level of trust and confidence in one other – in the ability to keep commitments and stand by promises. We know this applies to us as the investor, too.