CapMan expands to Central Europe and a new asset class with a favorable acquisition

Translation: Original published in Finnish on 06/19/2025 at 12:24 pm EEST

CapMan announced yesterday that it has acquired a majority stake in the German-based real estate debt specialist CAERUS Debt Investments AG At the same time, CapMan will launch a new investment area “Real Asset Debt” Although the transaction is relatively small for CapMan (earnings impact of a few percent), the acquisition is clearly strategic, as it provides CapMan with access to a new asset class and market. We believe the transaction offers interesting synergy opportunities. We consider the purchase price favorable and value-creating even without synergies. The deal is expected to be completed in Q3.

CAERUS is a German real estate debt investor

Founded in 2012, CAERUS is one of Germany’s first real estate debt investors with a team of 12 people. CAERUS currently manages seven funds with approximately 700 MEUR in AUM. In addition, we believe it has significant investment capacity in its funds, and this will increase assets under management once the funds are invested. We believe the team’s track record is strong and its funds have performed well over time. CapMan did not disclose CAERUS' revenue in the release, but we estimate that the fee level in this asset class is likely between 0.6% and -0.8%. Thus, CAERUS’ revenue for 2024 is likely to be around 4-6 MEUR. CAERUS' earnings adjusted for performance fees were 1.7 MEUR in 2024 and 2024. We note that all performance fees from the old funds will remain with the team (same structure as in the Dasos transaction).

The purchase price is favorable 

In the transaction, CapMan acquires 51% of CAERUS and 49% remains with CEO Michael Morgenroth. He will also be appointed to CapMan's Management Group and Head of the Real Asset Debt investment area upon closing of the transaction. The purchase price for the 51% stake is a maximum of 6.6 MEUR, consisting of a fixed purchase price of 4 MEUR and an earnout of up to 2.6 MEUR. The transaction is financed with cash reserves. Applying the full purchase price, the acquisition target's EV/EBIT would be below 8x and the calculated P/E ratio around 10x. The price per AUM is also very low at about 2%. The multiples are well below CapMan’s own and we consider them cheap. Thus, the transaction offers good conditions for creating shareholder value, since if CapMan can accelerate CAERUS' growth, the valuation level will fall to a very attractive level. 

A logical step strategically

Strategically, the transaction is very logical, as it offers CapMan access to a new asset class and a new market, with a very limited investment (investment some 2% relative to CapMan's market cap). Ideally, the transaction should offer clear synergy opportunities. In the short term, the clearest synergies relate to CapMan's sales engine's ability to support CAERUS' growth by expanding its investor base. In the longer term, we see a realistic possibility of the real estate debt business expanding into the Nordics and equity-based real estate investing (CapMan's current real estate business) expanding into Central Europe. We note that, as the purchase price is favorable, we believe the transaction creates value even without synergies, unlike the Dasos acquisition, for example. The key risks of the transaction naturally relate to key persons and their retention. 

Initially, the transaction will increase CapMan's management fees and AUM by approximately 10%, and fee-profit by approximately 15%. The transaction is expected to increase the group's earnings forecasts by a few percent due to the significant minority interest. We view the arrangement positively and believe it provides a good basis for creating shareholder value.