Capvis to acquire majority interest in Schurter

Swiss investor Capvis, a specialist in midcap investments, is acquiring a majority interest in the Lucerne-based Schurter Group. 

The transaction will not have any impact on the group’s organisational structure and jobs. The founding family and current owner of the group will be retaining an interest and will be represented on the Board of Directors by Thomas Schurter. CEO Ralph Müller and his management team will continue to manage Schurter in the future.

Based in Lucerne with a total of 20 subsidiaries in 17 countries, the Schurter Group is a producer of components for ensuring the clean and safe supply of power, input systems and sophisticated integrated electronic solutions.

The company has been in the hands of the Schurter family since its foundation. Now there is to be a change in the ownership structure. Capvis, a well-known Swiss investor company based in Baar (canton of Zug), is acquiring a majority interest in Schurter Holding AG. The transaction is expected to be completed in spring 2023 following the necessary (European) regulatory approval process.

Thomas Schurter, chairman of the board of directors, said: “In the interests of business continuity, the family had jointly decided a number of years ago that Cyrill Schurter, as a representative of the fourth generation, would assume management responsibility for the company in the medium to long term. The necessary steps had already been initiated and even finalised. After his tragic death in May 2021 as a result of an accident, there were no other potential successors from within the family as the other members of the fourth generation were already pursuing other career paths. Following intensive discussion and careful consideration, the owner family decided to sell a majority interest in order to ensure the company’s continued success.”

Subsequently, the family selected a partner which, as the new majority owner, will continue to expand the company as an independent group.

Schurter continued: “Capvis offers the ideal basis for keeping Schurter on its growth path. Capvis is known for advancing the development of successful, internationally active companies together with the management team.

Capvis specialises in holding majority interests in SMEs in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy. It predominantly invests capital provided by institutional investors such as pension funds, asset managers and family offices.

Boris Zoller, managing partner of Capvis: “I’m greatly looking forward to advancing Schurter’s development together with its management team. Schurter is a good fit for Capvis and Capvis is a good fit for Schurter. Entrepreneurship, Swiss quality and innovation are our guiding principles. Schurter has been demonstrating this for years with its successes and is thus ideally positioned to continue performing successfully on growth markets around the world."

The Schurter family will remain a shareholder in the group, which will continue to be managed by the existing management team led by CEO Ralph Müller. In line with the Capvis strategy, he will also be taking a stake in the company.

Ralph Müller said: “I’m proud of the global SCHURTER teams. Capvis’ decision to invest in the company is a recognition of the performance and expertise of our employees.”

Andreas Simon, who as a Capvis partner is responsible for industrial technology investments, said: “The acquisition of a majority interest in the SCHURTER Group marks an important step for Capvis. The group has been successful in the key industries of electronics, automation and digitisation technology for many years and has the right employees and technologies to add further chapters to its success story.”

The transaction will not have any impact on the group’s organizational structure or its approximately 2,200 jobs. The company’s’ headquarter will remain in Lucerne. The established Schurter brand will also be retained. As a further sign of continuity, Thomas Schurter will remain on the Board of Directors, while Ralph Müller and his management team will continue to manage the company.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and is expected in spring 2023.