01
Strategic or operational repositioning
Sound businesses that need repositioning as their market shifts.
Investment approach
What we invest in
Tempus Capital invests in mid-market companies in the German-speaking region facing a special situation. The kind of situation that needs capital, patience and operational involvement, and an investor who can act without going to a committee.
Investment criteria
- Region
- Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the DACH region).
- Sectors
- Sector-agnostic. Historical focus areas: logistics and postal services, B2B services, healthcare, industrial services, consumer goods.
- Target revenue
- €20m to €250m.
- EBITDA
- Negative EBITDA is fine, provided the underlying business is viable and the recovery case is credible.
- Stake
- Majority and qualifying minority interests.
- Equity cheque
- €5m to €50m.
- Holding period
- Four to seven years, without fund-driven exit pressure.
- Outside our focus
- Early-stage venture capital, regulated financial services and listed large-cap groups.
Special situations in which we invest
02
Turnaround and restructuring
Underperforming businesses that need both money and operating know-how to recover.
03
Carve-out
Business units worth more outside the group than inside.
04
Succession
Family-owned Mittelstand businesses with no successor in the family.
05
Liquidity constraints
Sound businesses with a short-term funding need.
06
Buy-and-build
Platform deals built out through bolt-on acquisitions.
Our approach
Capital and operational involvement
Tempus Capital is not a passive shareholder. In every investment, one of the partners works alongside management: on the supervisory board, in the strategy sessions, on the operational levers that matter.
Strategy
We work with hypotheses. They get tested with management, sharpened in the process, and prioritised against what the company can actually deliver.
Operations
ESG, digitalisation, automation: each of these is treated as a tool, not a doctrine. Where the value is real, the work gets done with management. Where it isn't, the work doesn't get done.
Financing
Conservative capital structures. The companies we own should be able to take a downturn without missing a payment.
Our process
- 01
Confidential initial conversation
A 60-minute conversation. Confidential and non-binding. We will give a concrete view by the end.
- 02
Indicative offer
Within two to three weeks, an indicative offer follows. Non-binding, with a price range, a proposed structure, and the assumptions behind both.
- 03
Due diligence
Eight to ten weeks, run tightly. We focus on what matters and try to keep the day-to-day running.
- 04
Binding offer
Clear terms, balanced market standards, no surprises in the final week before signing.
- 05
Completion and partnership
From completion onwards, we work with management as a sounding board, not as a supervisor.