Rödl study 2026: the Mittelstand becomes a core market for investment capital

Rödl & Partner has published its Private Equity Study 2026, based on the investment criteria of more than 450 investment firms active in Germany. It describes our market rather precisely: the smaller, profitable Mittelstand.

Three findings stood out to us.

Capital is discovering the smaller Mittelstand. 36% of investors focus on companies with less than 5 million euros of EBITDA, and a further 23% on the segment between 5 and 10 million. That is exactly the size range in which most business successions will come up over the next few years.

Investment models are becoming more flexible. Only 54% of investors now insist exclusively on majority stakes, down from 77% the year before. Majority and minority models increasingly stand side by side. For owners, this means the future of their company is no longer a rigid “sell everything or nothing at all”, but a question of finding the right model.

What is in demand is the solid, not the spectacular. Sector preferences are led by services (68%) and industrials (59%): that down-to-earth, resilient Mittelstand that rarely makes headlines but carries real economic substance.

To us, this confirms the path we have chosen. As a long-term owner, we think in decades rather than quarters: the companies we acquire stay in the Cornus portfolio and keep growing with us. Local management remains the linchpin, and we structure our acquisitions without the risk of over-indebtedness. With Ventaflex and XARIS, we have put the first two building blocks in place this year.

If you are thinking about the long-term future of your company, we would be glad to hear from you.