We invest in consumer, services and healthcare
Partnership has benefits
We are hands-on, active partners who add value by contributing human and financial capital. We provide access to the expertise, skill sets, and capabilities a growing business needs, co-developing a long-term strategy that allows our portfolio companies to outperform benchmarks consistently.
Our investment philosophy
We ensure that our actions have a positive impact, guided by a deep regard for the environment, the communities we work in, and the governance of the organizations we help to build.
We seek an investment trifecta that satisfies our criteria for:
Deal Type
Majority investor or co-control in the deals we complete, deploying equity tickets of CHF 300-500M.
Business Quality
Differentiated, cash-generative businesses operating in a non-cyclical market, driven by secular tailwinds, and run by an excellent and motivated management team.
Value Creation
Long-term value creation potential where our investments can achieve market leadership through organic and inorganic growth.
Cocoa & chocolate
Cocoa & chocolate
Barry Callebaut is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, with its products in 1 in 4 chocolates consumed worldwide. It currently operates 60+ production facilities around the globe with a diverse and dedicated workforce of more than 12,000 people.
As an innovation leader, Barry Callebaut has shaped the industry through its comprehensive competence in making cocoa and chocolate products — from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations, and compounds.
Barry Callebaut is committed to sustainable cocoa production to help ensure future cocoa supplies and improve farmers’ livelihoods, including support of the Cocoa Horizons Foundation’s goal to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future.
Schools
Schools
Cognita is a global family of over 100 diverse, high-quality schools operating across five regions.
While each school is unique and retains their own distinctive character and identity, they are united by one common purpose: to enable students to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. Cognita schools provide an outstanding holistic education that delivers the best academic outcomes for every student. A balanced combination of cognitive, social, emotional and physical learning, alongside rich learning opportunities, also helps students to develop agency, adaptability and positive attitudes — skills that are required to thrive in life.
Headquartered in the UK, Cognita provides a uniquely global education to more than 90,000 students, delivering a wide range of internationally renowned curricula, including the International Baccalaureate, the US and UK curricula, and selected national curricula.
Schools
Vocational Training
ILERNA is a leading provider of high quality Spanish vocational education, offering both online and in-person courses to enable it to serve a broad demographic of students, including those less able to access traditional education including mature students already in employment.
Its wide range of courses is designed to meet the evolving needs of both students and employers and address the structural need for more skilled workers within the Spanish economy.
Founded in Lleida, Catalonia, in 2014, ILERNA currently educates more than 45,000 students and operates a network of 11 centers across Spain.
Dentistry
Dentistry
Since 2017, Jacobs Holding has identified the dental service organizations (DSO) space as an attractive investment category commensurate with our values, and we have deployed capital accordingly. Today, we are present in Europe (Colosseum Dental Group) and the US (North American Dental Group) and continue to expand our footprint in existing and new markets.
Colosseum Dental Group (CDG) is a Zurich-based Pan-European DSO, operating a network of more than 600 clinics across 11 countries under regional and local brands (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, France and Belgium).
Intending to become the European leader in dental care, CDG benefits from an innovative model based on local platforms. As a value-driven group, it is guided by three fundamental principles reflecting its commitment to quality dental care: Collaboration, Care, and Entrepreneurship.
Following the motto “We care for a smile” CDG aims to combine best practices from different markets to provide modern, quality dental care for patients, dentists, employees, and shareholders.
Dentistry
Dentistry
North American Dental Group (NADG) is a Pittsburgh-based DSO with a network of clinics across 15 states operating under regional and local brands. It is pioneering a new culture in dental care following the motto ”Best In Class Care, Every Patient, Every Visit”.
NADG distinguishes itself through a unique partnership model to drive attraction, engagement, and retention of like-minded dentists committed to quality. It enables dentists to provide best-in-class patient care assured by administrative support through three state-of-the-art resource centers.
A record of successful exits
After acquiring the controlling stake in Swiss staffing market leader Adia in 1991, Klaus J. Jacobs grew the company continuously through organic and inorganic growth initiatives to become the world’s largest HR services company. A merger with Ecco in 1997 provided the basis for subsequent acquisitions and it became a leader in both the General and Professional Staffing business. The company streamlined processes and established itself as the partner of choice for HR services across the globe. At the time of the exit, Adecco employed over 31,000 employees in over 5,000 branches across 60+ countries.
Sold in 2014 on the stock market
In 2002, Jacobs Holding successfully closed the acquisition of Infront Sports & Media with a co-investor. Formerly known as Kirch Sport & Media AG, the company holdings included the 2006 football World Cup broadcast rights. Following the acquisition, Infront diversified its rights portfolio from football and ice hockey into a range of summer and winter sports, media production, and services, expanding in Europe and Asia, particularly China.
Sold in 2011 to private equity fund Bridgepoint