EQT acquires stake in Strauss

EQT Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Strauss Innovation, a German private-label retail chain, through its EQT Opportunity Fund. No financial terms were disclosed. The company is being bought from the Geringhoff family, which will retain a minority ownership position.

Strauss Innovation is a retail chain with 108 stores in Germany and had revenues of about €250m in 2007. The company is known for its assortment concept, combining interior decoration products with women’s and men’s apparel. Since 1997, the private label retail chain has belonged to the Geringhoff family and Alldata GmbH.

Strauss Innovation is the fifth investment by the EQT Opportunity Fund, which was launched in 2005 and has committed capital of €372m. According to the EQT Opportunity Fund, it makes “impact investments in medium-sized companies that have a sound underlying business and a clear value-creation potential, but that also face particular issues requiring special expertise to resolve”.

EQT Opportunity is one of a group of private equity funds managed by buyouts fund EQT Partners, which has about €11bn in equity in 11 funds. EQT Partners has offices in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Frankfurt, Munich, New York, Shanghai and Hong Kong and in total EQT has invested in about 60 companies.