German Private Equity Acquires Majority Stake in FOGTEC Group

Munich/Cologne – Funds advi­sed by Deut­sche Private Equity (DPE) have signed an agree­ment to acquire a majo­rity stake in FOGTEC Brand­schutz GmbH from the foun­ding share­hol­ders and the M Cap Finance Mittel­stands­fonds. As part of the tran­sac­tion, manage­ment will retain a signi­fi­cant stake in FOGTEC and will conti­nue to lead the company on its growth trajec­tory. The tran­sac­tion is subject to appr­oval by the rele­vant anti­trust autho­ri­ties. The parties have agreed not to disc­lose the finan­cial details of the acquisition. 

Foun­ded in 1997 and head­quar­te­red in Colo­gne, FOGTEC Brand­schutz GmbH is a leading, inno­va­tive, and rapidly growing provi­der of fire protec­tion systems based on high-pres­­sure water mist for buil­dings, indus­trial faci­li­ties, data centers, tunnels, train stati­ons, and rail vehic­les. In this process, water is atomi­zed under high pres­sure into a fine mist that quickly cools fires and requi­res up to 90 percent less water than tradi­tio­nal sprink­ler systems—without chemi­cal extin­gu­is­hing agents and with signi­fi­cantly less conse­quen­tial damage. FOGTEC’s range of services extends from nozz­les, pumps, and valves to sensor tech­no­logy and control systems, as well as engi­nee­ring, instal­la­tion, main­ten­ance, and spare parts for complete fire protec­tion systems. Its custo­mers include inter­na­tio­nal rail vehicle manu­fac­tu­r­ers and rail opera­tors, as well as opera­tors of data centers, indus­trial faci­li­ties, specia­li­zed buil­dings, and tunnels. With appro­xi­m­ately 255 employees at loca­ti­ons in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, the company is targe­ting reve­nue of around 70 million euros for 2026. 

DPE views FOGTEC as a highly attrac­tive group in a market where fire protec­tion is incre­asingly a deci­ding factor in terms of avai­la­bi­lity, value preser­va­tion, and sustaina­bi­lity. High-pres­­sure water mist is growing signi­fi­cantly faster than the over­all market for fire protec­tion tech­no­logy, as new fire risks are emer­ging in data centers, battery storage faci­li­ties, power plants, and modern trains, and stric­ter safety and envi­ron­men­tal requi­re­ments are pushing chemi­cal extin­gu­is­hing agents out of the market. FOGTEC meets this demand through its own rese­arch and deve­lo­p­ment, expe­ri­ence gained from more than 1,500 large-scale fire tests, 102 regis­tered patents, and parti­ci­pa­tion in 13 natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal stan­dards committees—a combi­na­tion of certi­fi­ca­ti­ons, test data, and refe­ren­ces that clearly sets FOGTEC apart from the competition. 

Toge­ther with manage­ment, DPE intends to support the company’s further deve­lo­p­ment as a stra­te­gic part­ner. The focus is on expan­ding appli­­­ca­­tion-orien­­ted sales, streng­thening the company’s inter­na­tio­nal presence, driving growth in the service and spare parts busi­ness based on instal­led systems, and making further invest­ments in rese­arch, deve­lo­p­ment, and regu­la­tory appr­ovals. Selec­tive acqui­si­ti­ons that faci­li­tate access to new markets and custo­mers or expand the range of services are inten­ded to comple­ment orga­nic growth. 

FOGTEC will conti­nue to be led by its exis­ting manage­ment team: Foun­der Dirk K. Spra­kel as Chair­man of the Execu­tive Board, Rüdi­ger Kopp as Mana­ging Direc­tor for Statio­nary Systems, and Roger Dirks­meier as Mana­ging Direc­tor for Rail Systems.

Dirk K. Spra­kel, foun­der and CEO of FOGTEC, says: “Since its foun­ding, FOGTEC has grown inter­na­tio­nally and has conti­nu­ally pionee­red new appli­ca­ti­ons for water mist tech­no­logy. For the next stage of our deve­lo­p­ment, we were looking for a part­ner who thinks long-term, under­stands our tech­ni­cal focus, and supports our growth plans. DPE perfectly meets these requirements.”

Fabian Rücker, a part­ner at DPE, empha­si­zes: “As a pioneer in the field of high-pres­­sure water mist, FOGTEC combi­nes a high level of tech­ni­cal exper­tise with a strong posi­tion in a growing market, making it a perfect fit for our invest­ment approach. We were parti­cu­larly impres­sed by the quality of the manage­ment team and its ability to trans­late tech­no­lo­gi­cal leader­ship into new applications.”

Fabio Adjou­dani, Direc­tor at DPE, adds: “FOGTEC has built an inter­na­tio­nal custo­mer base based on its tech­no­lo­gi­cal strength—and we intend to build on that speci­fi­cally. We see signi­fi­cant poten­tial in the service and spare parts busi­ness, driven by the large instal­led base of systems, in rapidly growing end markets such as data centers, and in further inter­na­tio­nal expan­sion. To this end, we are inves­t­ing in sales, addi­tio­nal certi­fi­ca­ti­ons, and an orga­niza­tio­nal struc­ture capa­ble of sustai­ning this growth over the long term.”

Debt Finan­cing: Ares is provi­ding debt finan­cing for the transaction.

Consul­tant DPE:

DPE was advi­sed by Strategy& (Commer­cial), Alva­rez & Marsal (Finan­cial & Tax), PwC (ESG), CMS (Legal), Pöllath + Part­ners (Struc­ture), Gleiss Lutz (Anti­trust), Howden (W&I), Harris Williams (M&A), and Pava Part­ners (Debt).

About FOGTEC

The company deve­lops and supplies fire protec­tion systems for statio­nary faci­li­ties and rail vehic­les. Its tech­no­lo­gi­cal focus is on high-pres­­sure water mist, in which water is finely atomi­zed under high pres­sure. Its product port­fo­lio also includes sensors, elec­tro­nic control systems, soft­ware, engi­nee­ring, instal­la­tion, main­ten­ance, and repla­ce­ment parts. These solu­ti­ons are used in buil­dings, indus­trial faci­li­ties, data centers, tunnels, train stati­ons, and trains, among other loca­ti­ons. The company holds 102 regis­tered patents and employs 255 people. FOGTEC was foun­ded in 1997 and is head­quar­te­red in Colo­gne. — www.fogtec-international.com.

About Deut­sche Private Equity

Since 2007, Deut­sche Private Equity (DPE) has been a growth part­ner for mid-sized compa­nies in the German-spea­king region (DACH). DPE supports port­fo­lio compa­nies in reali­zing their full future poten­tial by provi­ding capi­tal, exper­tise, and respect for entre­pre­neu­rial initia­tive. Its invest­ment focus is on five core sectors: Busi­ness Services, Energy & Envi­ron­ment, Health­care, Indus­trial Tech­no­logy, and Soft­ware & IT Services. DPE curr­ently mana­ges assets of appro­xi­m­ately three billion euros. For more infor­ma­tion, visit www.dpe.de.