Active Capital Company (“ACC”), a hands-on investor in Dutch and German technical SME companies, has raised a Special Investment Fund, which focuses on investments where the circumstances are challenging or the transaction situation is complex, such as in certain carve-outs. The fund focuses on industrial companies in the Netherlands and Germany with a turnover of € 10m to € 100m.

ACC sees a combination of factors that are expected to lead to a wave of restructurings of businesses that are healthy in their core. Covid is such a factor, but certainly not the only and most important one. “Rising inflation, tight labour markets conditions and severe shocks in various value chains are other examples of factors that will lead to more problems within the corporate sector.” said Werner Krabbe, newly appointed partner at Active Capital Company. Krabbe has a broad background in strategy, investing and operations, amongst others at Triacta, H2 Equity Partners and OC&C Strategy Consultants.

Many SMEs work with relatively large suppliers and customers, and therefore may be of risk to get stuck with their working capital and translating higher costs into sales prices. Dick Zeldenthuis, Managing Partner of Active Capital Company, continues: “We are delighted with the arrival of Werner. The causes of this shift are both incidental and structural in nature. This mix of developments will lead to situations in which, besides additional capital, the transformation of businesses will be central. Fast and thorough decision making, and the necessary flexibility in structure, enables us to come to a tailor made solution within weeks.”