DBAG Takes a Stake in Optronics Leader Vected

Frank­furt am Main/Munich — Deut­sche Betei­li­gungs AG (DBAG) is inves­t­ing in Vected GmbH (Vected) and acqui­ring a signi­fi­cant mino­rity stake in the company. The invest­ment is part of the company’s “Long-Term Invest­ments” stra­tegy. These invest­ments are always struc­tu­red using funds from the balance sheet. Foun­der and Mana­ging Direc­tor Wolf­gang Schö­berl will conti­nue to lead the company. The parties have agreed not to disc­lose the purchase price. The tran­sac­tion is subject to the usual regu­la­tory approvals. 

A tech­no­logy specia­list with a unique posi­tion in Europe

Vected was foun­ded in 2012 by Wolf­gang Schö­berl. The core of the busi­ness is the deve­lo­p­ment, manu­fac­ture, and cali­bra­tion of ther­mal imaging devices, as well as their inte­gra­tion into ready-to-use end products. Vected deve­lops and manu­fac­tures ther­mal imaging tech­no­logy, parti­cu­larly for criti­cal mili­tary appli­ca­ti­ons, as well as for dual-use purpo­ses. The company offers in-depth exper­tise with a fully inte­gra­ted system “Made in Germany.” This includes proprie­tary image-proces­­sing soft­ware and the use of AI for image opti­miza­tion and object recognition. 

Vecte­d’s product port­fo­lio includes porta­ble ther­mal imaging devices, vehicle-moun­­ted solu­ti­ons, and drones. In addi­tion, Vected deve­lops and manu­fac­tures custom solu­ti­ons based on the company’s exten­sive port­fo­lio of patents. 

The Growing Importance of Optro­nics for the Euro­pean Defense Strategy

Euro­pean defense budgets have been rising since 2022, and with them, the volume of procu­re­ment for vehic­les, sensors, and recon­nais­sance products. Optro­nic solu­ti­ons, in parti­cu­lar, are beco­ming incre­asingly important in both estab­lished systems and new appli­ca­ti­ons. Ther­mal imaging tech­no­lo­gies often play a crucial role in ensu­ring opti­mal visi­bi­lity even under chal­len­ging condi­ti­ons. This high-tech sector is covered by only a few compa­nies in Europe. Conse­quently, there is dispro­por­tio­na­tely high demand for solu­ti­ons such as those offe­red by Vected, which are charac­te­ri­zed by tech­no­lo­gi­cal leader­ship, high-quality imagery, and excep­tio­nal relia­bi­lity. The Euro­pean market for uncoo­led infrared systems is valued at appro­xi­m­ately 1.1 billion euros and, accor­ding to indus­try experts, is expec­ted to grow by 12 percent annu­ally through 2030. For vehicle-moun­­ted systems, growth projec­tions are signi­fi­cantly higher. 

Vected also manu­fac­tures its ther­mal imaging devices and elec­tro­nic modu­les exclu­si­vely in Germany and, as a true “Made in Germany” company, is ideally posi­tio­ned to meet the requi­re­ments of Euro­pean procu­re­ment agen­cies for a Euro­pean supply chain. On the custo­mer side, too, the company bene­fits from high barriers to entry: In-depth exper­tise built up over deca­des, along with its quali­fi­ca­ti­ons and deep inte­gra­tion into custo­mers’ end products, make Vected a relia­ble supplier that can scale quickly along­side its custo­mers. This strong posi­tio­ning is also reflec­ted in the company’s deve­lo­p­ment, as it is curr­ently in a phase of signi­fi­cant growth. 

Invest­ments using on-balance-sheet funds enable long-term partnerships
DBAG’s “Long-Term Invest­ments” stra­tegy focu­ses on mino­rity stakes finan­ced with on-balance-sheet funds. This allows for a holding period that extends beyond the typi­cal dura­ti­ons of private equity funds. This results in grea­ter flexi­bi­lity in stra­te­gic direc­tion and in support­ing the growth of port­fo­lio compa­nies. As is custo­mary, the invest­ment in Vected was reviewed in accordance with DBAG’s guide­lines for respon­si­ble inves­t­ing prior to the invest­ment decision. 

Jannick Hune­cke, Member of the Execu­tive Board of Deut­sche Betei­li­gungs AG, says: “Ther­mal imaging tech­no­logy was an abso­lute niche topic for many years. Today, it is a highly rele­vant compo­nent in procu­re­ment. Vected is one of the few Euro­pean market play­ers that has maste­red the entire process—from sensor tech­no­logy and image proces­sing to hard­ware and cali­bra­tion. And it does so with a supply chain that depends neither on U.S. export licen­ses nor on compon­ents from outside Europe. That’s a compe­ti­tive advan­tage that’s very diffi­cult to replicate.”

“Demand for our products is high, and with DBAG, we can expand the neces­sary infra­struc­ture. We are prepa­ring the company for further growth. Toge­ther with DBAG, we aim to expand our produc­tion capa­city and further profes­sio­na­lize the company,” says Wolf­gang Schö­berl, foun­der and CEO of Vected.

Next Phase of Growth: Profes­sio­na­liza­tion and Capacity

Toge­ther with manage­ment, DBAG aims to posi­tion the orga­niza­tion for the coming years. The focus is on expan­ding the busi­ness in terms of person­nel and capa­city. In addi­tion, the orga­niza­tion will undergo further profes­sio­na­liza­tion and scaling. By 2030, the team is expec­ted to grow signi­fi­cantly, and at the same time, the product port­fo­lio will be further expan­ded to tap into new growth potential. 

“master. And to do so with a supply chain that depends neither on U.S. export licen­ses nor on compon­ents from outside Europe. That’s an advan­tage that’s very diffi­cult to replicate.” 

“Demand for our products is high, and with DBAG, we can expand the neces­sary infra­struc­ture. We are prepa­ring the company for further growth. Toge­ther with DBAG, we aim to expand our produc­tion capa­city and further profes­sio­na­lize the company,” says Wolf­gang Schö­berl, foun­der and CEO of Vected.

Next Phase of Growth: Profes­sio­na­liza­tion and Capacity

Toge­ther with manage­ment, DBAG plans to posi­tion the orga­niza­tion for the coming years. The focus is on expan­ding the busi­ness in terms of person­nel and capa­city. In addi­tion, the orga­niza­tion will be further profes­sio­na­li­zed and scaled up. By 2030, the team is expec­ted to grow signi­fi­cantly, and at the same time, the product port­fo­lio will be further expan­ded to tap into new growth potential. 

About DBAG

Deut­sche Betei­li­gungs AG (DBAG), which has been publicly traded since 1985, is one of Germany’s most renow­ned private equity firms. As an inves­tor and fund advi­sor, DBAG’s invest­ment focus has tradi­tio­nally been on small and medium-sized enter­pri­ses (SMEs), with an empha­sis on well-posi­­tio­­ned compa­nies with growth poten­tial, prima­rily in the DACH region. Key sectors include manu­fac­tu­r­ers of indus­trial goods, indus­trial service provi­ders, and Indus­try­Tech companies—that is, compa­nies whose products enable auto­ma­tion, robo­tics, and digitalization—as well as compa­nies in the busi­ness services, IT services, soft­ware, health­care, envi­ron­men­tal, energy, and infra­struc­ture sectors. DBAG has also been active in Italy since 2020 and has been repre­sen­ted by its own office in Milan since 2021. The assets mana­ged or advi­sed by the DBAG Group total appro­xi­m­ately 2.8 billion euros. ELF Capi­tal comple­ments DBAG’s range of flexi­ble finan­cing solu­ti­ons for small and medium-sized enter­pri­ses by provi­ding private debt finan­cing. — www.dbag.de