Imker Capital takes over AMV — the well-known Fritzbox
London/ Berlin — The European family office Imker Capital Partners from London has acquired a majority stake in the Berlin-based company AMV. the founders of AVM, provider of the well-known Fritzbox routers. Imker Capital Partners is supported by prominent figures from the business world, including Dutchman Teun van Rappard. Van Rappard’s father, Rolly van Rappard, is a co-founder of the well-known private equity firm CVC.
AMV, founded by four students in Berlin in 1986, is regarded as a model company in the German IT sector. It has always specialized in in-house developments and is considered a pearl of the German IT industry. The company, which specializes in in-house developments and is best known for its “Fritzbox”, generated revenue of €580 million in 2023 with its 890 employees. Industry experts estimate AVM’s enterprise value at up to € 1 billion.
AVM has now arranged the generational change for the company. The founders and managing partners Johannes Nill, Peter Faxel and Ulrich Müller-Albring will remain minority shareholders and members of the company’s advisory board.
The investor Imker Capital Partners acquires the majority of the shares. The founders Johannes Nill, Peter Faxel and Ulrich Müller-Albring remain loyal to AVM as shareholders. In future, you will hold a minority interest of an undisclosed amount.
The financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. It is known that Nill, Faxel and Müller-Albring will leave the management board on September 1. The trio will then accompany the company’s further development in a newly formed advisory board. Regulatory approval is required before the transaction can be completed, but the deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of the current year.
The necessary generational change has been “actively and systematically approached”, Nill, currently still CEO and spokesman of the management board at AVM, is quoted as saying in a press release. Imker Capital Partners shares the founders’ vision for the future of AVM.
Advisors to AVM founders: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Led by Dr. Jan Bauer and Dr. Rüdiger Schmidt-Bendun.
The law firm KNPZ was consulted for IP and IT law.
Advisor Imker Capital Partners: Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Dr. Ansgar Wimber provides legal advice. As with the recent advice to Advent International in the context of the takeover of Aareon by TPG and CDPQ, this mandate was also acquired and managed from Weil’s Frankfurt office.
Imker Capital Partners is considered a well-connected financial investor
Imker Capital Partners, headquartered in London, also holds a stake in SAP Fioneer via the Luxembourg-based company Rucio. Teun van Rappard, a prominent Dutchman, is one of the shareholders of Imker. His father, Rolly van Rappard, is a co-founder of the globally active private equity company CVC, which holds a stake in the Douglas perfumery chain in Germany and makes investments in Europe such as the Maltese bookmaker Tipico. Teun van Rappard is a regular guest at the World Economic Forum in Davos, but remains largely withdrawn from the public eye.