Bain Capital acquires Apleona from PAI Partners

Neu-Isen­­burg — Apleona, a leading Euro­pean provi­der of inte­gra­ted faci­lity manage­ment (FM) based in Neu-Isen­­burg near Frank­furt, has agreed to be acqui­red by Bain Capi­tal, one of the world’s leading private invest­ment compa­nies. The seller is the private equity company PAI Part­ners. The invest­ment was made by a consor­tium led by Bain Capital’s private equity team in Europe and will support the further growth and deve­lo­p­ment of Apleona into the leading inte­gra­ted faci­lity manage­ment group in Europe.

The faci­lity manage­ment group with more than 40,000 employees and sales of EUR 4 billion is to conti­nue its dyna­mic growth course with new owner Bain Capi­tal, both orga­ni­cally and through company acquisitions.

As an inte­gra­ted faci­lity mana­ger with strong tech­ni­cal exper­tise and an inter­na­tio­nal presence, Apleona is in a posi­tion to offer high-quality, inno­va­tive buil­ding services to both regio­nal clients and clients with large, cross-border port­fo­lios and to meet the growing demand for ESG solu­ti­ons and products for energy and CO2 savings in exis­ting buildings.

With PAI as owner, the company has grown consider­a­bly and reached a turno­ver of EUR 4 billion for the first time in 2024. Apleona is expan­ding its Euro­pean plat­form and is also driving forward the digi­tal trans­for­ma­tion of its services, inves­t­ing in data- and AI-based control systems for heating, venti­la­tion and air condi­tio­ning (HVAC) systems and predic­tive main­ten­ance for buil­ding tech­no­logy, for exam­ple. To support this stra­tegy, Apleona has made and successfully inte­gra­ted 14 stra­te­gic acqui­si­ti­ons in Europe, inclu­ding the take­over of the Gegen­bauer Group in 2023. 

Dr. Jochen Keysberg, CEO of Apleona, said: “We thank PAI for its strong support and part­ner­ship since 2021. With Bain Capi­tal as the new owner, Apleona will conti­nue to operate as an inde­pen­dent company in the market and further deve­lop its posi­tion as an inte­gra­ted FM mana­ger with high tech­ni­cal and digi­tal exper­tise and in-house capa­bi­li­ties in faci­lity manage­ment, tech­ni­cal buil­ding services and buil­ding decar­bo­niza­tion solu­ti­ons. Apleona will conti­nue to expand its service offe­ring through acqui­si­ti­ons and invest in AI, digi­tal solu­ti­ons and auto­ma­tion for the bene­fit of its customers.”

Dr. Michael Siefke, Part­ner & Chair of Private Equity in Europe at Bain Capi­tal, said: “Apleona is one of the market-leading faci­lity manage­ment compa­nies in Europe and has made impres­sive progress in recent years. In recent years, we have been actively seeking invest­ments in compa­nies that are decar­bo­ni­zing buil­dings and are proud to part­ner with Apleona and support the company in its next phase of growth and deve­lo­p­ment. Going forward, Apleona will bene­fit from Bain Capital’s global resour­ces and the deep expe­ri­ence of our indus­try team.”

Ralph Heuwing, Part­ner & Head of DACH at PAI Part­ners, said: “We are deligh­ted to have been able to successfully accom­pany Apleona’s strong growth over the last four years and support the company on its way to beco­ming the leading Euro­pean provi­der of inte­gra­ted faci­lity manage­ment. We would like to thank the Apleona manage­ment team for their excel­lent part­ner­ship. With a strong Euro­pean plat­form, a compre­hen­sive service offe­ring and a clear leader­ship posi­tion in the areas of sustaina­bi­lity and decar­bo­niza­tion, Apleona is well posi­tio­ned to conti­nue its success in the years to come.”

The tran­sac­tion is still subject to anti­trust and regu­la­tory approvals.

Advi­sor to Bain Capi­tal: Kirk­land & Ellis

Advi­sor PAI Part­ners: Henge­ler Müller