Gaius Capital closes debut fund at €50 million, raises another €6 million via co-investment vehicle

Gaius Capital, a Berlin-based private equity firm specializing in business succession within the DACH Mittelstand, has successfully closed its inaugural fund, Gaius Nachfolgekapital I, at €50 million. This oversubscribed fund reached its hard cap while also securing an additional €6 million through a co-investment vehicle, resulting in a total capital raised of €56 million. The closing of the fund occurred just four months after its initial €40 million close in June.

Founding Partner Jan Mickel expressed gratitude to investors for their support, stating that reaching the final close at the hard cap, with significant interest from experienced institutional investors, is a positive indication of their strategy and the potential in Mittelstand succession.

Gaius Capital, established in 2025 by Mickel, Joscha Radeck, and Dr. Lukas Klipper, focuses on a scalable buy-and-build strategy targeting micro- and small-cap segments of the Mittelstand. The firm partners with founder and family-owned businesses to provide collaborative succession solutions, aiming to acquire majority stakes in profitable mid-sized service companies.

Their primary focus areas include insurance and financial services, industrial services, healthcare, and testing and inspection, across the German-speaking regions of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Unlike traditional acquirers, Gaius Capital offers entrepreneurs the option to participate in value creation through a group sale using its Gaius Seller Consortium model, allowing founders to retain an economic stake in the combined entity they help create. Since its first close, Gaius has initiated its strategy through the Praevidentia Group succession platform, targeting the insurance broking sector in Germany, and recently launched the Alpiora Group platform for insurance advisory and brokerage in Switzerland.

Additional succession platforms are being developed across various sectors, such as outpatient care, wealth management, compliance, and medical technology testing.

Mickel emphasized that with the fund successfully raised, the firm's focus now shifts to deploying capital judiciously and forming lasting partnerships with entrepreneurs throughout the DACH region. The firm also manages Gaius Unternehmerkapital I, another active fund vintage from 2025.