EQT appoints new German head

Marcus Brennecke, who joined EQT as a partner in January, is taking over as head of the firm’s German business and the Munich office from September 1.

The move represents a strengthening of EQT’s German franchise and a transition from current country head Bjorn Hoi Jensen, who has led the German operation for the last two years. Hoi Jensen will remain in the Munich office, continue making deals and sit on the boards of German portfolio companies.

Brennecke has been active in private equity for 11 years. Most recently he was a managing partner at Munich-based Schoeller Metternich Brennecke Group (SMB). Before that, he spent seven years in various management positions at Axel Springer Verlag. In another move, Hans Moock, a former partner at EQT in Munich, left the firm at the end of June.

EQT currently manages almost €6bn in equity in seven funds. In total, it is invested in 39 companies, with a combined enterprise value of approximately €13bn. The firm last week sold Health Insurance Danmark to trade buyer Bupa. It is also bidding US$3.8bn for ISS, a Danish cleaning company, although bondholders have taken legal action against that acquisition.