Deutsche Beteiligungs AG invests in MAIT – one of the leading digital transformation partners for mid-market companies

 Deutsche Beteiligungs AG invests in MAIT – one of the leading digital transformation partners for mid-market companies

• New investment in leading IT consultancy and software integration company
• Promising outlook with double-digit market growth
• Highly fragmented business partner market offers attractive development potential
• No ‘summer break’ in sight – DBAG drives the revival of the M&A market with its second transaction within one month

Frankfurt/Main, 2 September 2025. Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) is investing in MAIT GmbH (MAIT), a leading digital transformation partner for mid-market companies. Via a management buyout (MBO), the private equity fund DBAG Fund VIII – which is advised by DBAG – will acquire all of the shares in MAIT. Closing of the purchase agreement is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to approval by the authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose details of the purchase price. The managing directors and further managers will make substantial re-investments in MAIT within the scope of the MBO.

How a systems vendor became a holistic ERP, PLM and IT solutions provider

The history of MAIT dates back to 1957. Originally a company specialising in office organisation, it initially developed into a system house and then into an end-to-end digitalisation partner for the manufacturing industry, with its headquarters in Rottweil. According to the Lünendonk list, MAIT is one of Germany’s top ten mid-market IT consultancy and software integration businesses. The company operates from more than 25 locations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries, where it employs some 900 people and serves around 7,000 clients, primarily mid-market manufacturing companies. MAIT's integrated solution portfolio – consisting of PLM and ERP software and IT-services – forms a comprehensive offering along the entire value chain. This supports customers on their long-term journey towards digital transformation. The goal is to create a ‘digital home’ for all product, manufacturing and commercial data. This creates a digital business framework that helps MAIT's customers become future-proof, efficient and transparent model-based and data-driven companies.

PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions are highly relevant for companies in the manufacturing industry. MAIT is one of the largest and longest-standing strategic partners of leading global software companies when it comes to implementing these solutions. To meet specific customer requirements, MAIT complements the PLM and ERP systems with its proprietary software modules. The company also offers cloud and managed services.

MAIT’s long-standing business relationships are testament to the high level of satisfaction among its customers, more than 60 per cent of whom have been with MAIT for over a decade.

Jannick Hunecke, member of Deutsche Beteiligungs AG’s Board of Management, said: “MAIT is a leading digital transformation partner for the industrial mid-market sector and a perfect fit for our portfolio, in which companies from the IT services and software sector now account for more than 20 per cent. MAIT combines in-depth and holistic process know-how with excellent technological expertise and a significant part of its revenue is recurring. We will support MAIT’s management team to model the next phase of growth.”

The MAIT deal is DBAG’s second transaction within the space of just a few weeks (following the most recent investment in FinMatch) and underlines the Company’s role in setting the pace for the reviving German M&A market. “We adopt a selective approach, seizing promising opportunities that arise in this still-uncertain environment. This dynamic strategy showcases our ability to identify and develop outstanding growth companies even when the market is going through challenging phases,” added Jannick Hunecke.

Market environment and strategy

Sector analyses indicate that the market for PLM services will increase by an annual growth rate of nine to twelve per cent through to 2030. This is because cost pressure, regulatory requirements and shorter development cycles are driving demand and the penetration in mid-market mechanical and plant engineering companies has only reached around 50 per cent so far. As MAIT has maintained long-term partnerships with market-leading technology partners and has a proven buy-and-build strategy, including 24 successfully integrated acquisitions, the company is ideally positioned to benefit from this trend.

As MAIT’s CEO Stefan Niehusmann noted: “Having DBAG by our side means we can count on an experienced partner who understands our business model and will help us continue our steady long-term growth. We have already successfully integrated 24 company acquisitions. DBAG’s expertise will now open up new possibilities for rolling out our platform internationally and offering our customers even more wide-ranging solutions.”

DBAG and MAIT are planning to structure further add-on acquisitions, leveraging the fragmented market to drive company performance, while expanding and scaling its international business.

Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) has been listed since 1985 and is one of the most renowned private equity firms in Germany. As an investor and fund advisor, DBAG traditionally focuses on mid-market companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the “DACH” region), and especially on well-positioned companies offering growth potential. DBAG’s sector focus is on manufacturers, industrial service providers and IndustryTech enterprises – businesses whose products facilitate automation, robotics and digitalisation – as well as on companies from the IT services, software, healthcare, and environment, energy and infrastructure sectors. Since 2020, DBAG has been present on the Italian market, providing its services from its office in Milan since 2021. DBAG Group’s assets under management or advisory amount to approximately 2.7 billion euros. ELF Capital has expanded DBAG’s range of flexible financing solutions for mid-market companies to include private debt.