The billion-euro takeover of the Hamburg-based wind farm operator Encavis brings together two partners who would typically have had reservations towards one another not so long ago. The financial investor KKR is teaming up with the billionaire family Viessmann as a co-investor. The family of real estate tycoon and billionaire Albert Büll from Hamburg also remains involved in Encavis as an ally in the takeover.

The transaction is remarkable in several respects. Normally, private equity firms such as KKR like to have the sole say in the companies they acquire. The exceptions to this rule are becoming increasingly common. At the same time, the deal is the Viessmann family's first major investment since the sale of its core division gas heating and heat pumps to the US group Carrier Global, which brought in 12 billion euros.

Direct investments by German family offices in companies outside the stock market are becoming more frequent. However, this is the first time that a family has invested in a take-private of a company by a US private equity firm. Trust in financial investors has increased on the part of business families. This not only applies to KKR, which also has a stake in the family-run Bremen-based space company OHB. The family-run industrial gases group Messer from Bad Soden was also supported by CVC in turning the company into a global supplier with an acquisition worth billions. And the prosthesis manufacturer Ottobock temporarily brought EQT on board as a financier with a minority stake.

The current deal is likely to be profitable for the energy transition. Together with KKR, the billionaire families will raise the necessary capital for the expansion of Encavis' wind and solar parks. A threefold increase is planned by 2027. On the stock exchange, this would have been very laborious and would have taken longer with several successive capital increases.