Private equity firm that enables companies to innovate and grow sustainably. Richard Reis, Partner at the pan-European investment fund Argos Wityu, explains.
Providing solutions for complex issues such as management buy-ins, spin-offs/carve-outs, privatizations, transformations, growth, and close collaboration with management teams... Supporting entrepreneurs and organizations in the transfer of business ownership. Always focusing on majority participations in companies with a turnover ranging from 20 to 600 million euros. Investing between 25 million and 100 million euros per transaction.
All of this is done by teams operating from six offices—Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Luxembourg, Paris, and Milan. And, uncommon in private equity, without sector specialization. The investment fund Argos Wityu, founded in Geneva in 1989, manages over 1.4 billion euros and distinguishes itself by also focusing on companies that prioritize ESG standards.
Richard Reis (39), a partner jointly responsible for the Benelux with partners Gilles Mougenot and Maarten Meijssen, underscores this: "Long before Environmental, Social, and Governance became important in the private equity landscape, we at Argos Wityu knew that socially responsible business leads to more growth and better risk management. Argos Wityu was born 33 years ago and had ESG as a source of innovation, a source of seeing and seizing new opportunities, early on."
The investment fund consistently addresses current issues, including geopolitical matters. In March, it donated over 105,000 euros to Médecins Sans Frontières, benefiting victims of the war in Ukraine.
Majority stake in family business
Argos Wityu acquired a majority stake in the family business Schenk Transport last year, led by brothers Harry and Arjan Schenk. The investment aims to assist the company in achieving a stable shareholder and management transition. It is the second acquisition by the Argos Wityu team in the Netherlands, emphasizing their strong commitment to ESG.
Founded in 1925, Schenk Transport evolved from a sand and gravel transport company into a logistics partner specializing in transporting complex gases and liquids. Harry and Arjan Schenk, the third generation of the family, took over in the late '80s, diversifying the company from a pure road transporter of fuels to a service provider in industrial gases, LNG, chemicals, fuels, lubricants, LPG, and liquid food products. Sustainability has become a crucial part of the strategy. The organization now has 1,600 employees, 900 modern trucks and tank trailers, with a turnover exceeding 200 million euros.
Richard Reis: "Together with the Schenk brothers, we have been committed to continuing to build the family business's position as a driver of a sustainable logistics world. This is a typical Argos Wityu participation—complex, with industrial solutions in mind. A truly niche company with a very strong, leading position in the market."
Continuing the CEO role, ensuring continuity
"On the other hand, Schenk chose Argos Wityu because of our experience in shareholder and management transitions in family businesses with a long history," Reis continues. "Our strong focus on ESG and vision to help the company with both organic growth and a buy-and-build program that strengthens their network also appealed to them. Meanwhile, both brothers retain a significant stake in the company and will continue their joint CEO role initially to ensure continuity until the company is ready for the next step."
With a buy-and-build strategy, a strong emphasis on the importance of ESG, and the improvement of financial control systems in mind, Argos Wityu steps in. Another example of their participation in the Netherlands: as part of an MBI transaction, the fund invested in service provider Cohedron in 2017. Organic growth was achieved through strengthening the internal organization. Additionally, the company was enabled to expand and transform its service offering with an active buy-and-build strategy. With a total of 17 build-ups, Cohendron has become the leading service provider for Dutch municipalities.
Rebranding as the final touch of metamorphosis
By implementing tailor-made software investments, a unique positioning for outsourcing services was created. Rebranding was the final touch of the metamorphosis of Cohedron into a multi-service provider for the public sector. With over 1500 professionals, a turnover of approximately 140 million euros, and an EBITDA that had grown from 8 million to about 20 million euros, it was time to say goodbye last year. In 2021, Cohedron was sold to House of HR, the European group of HR service companies, a giant with a turnover of over 2 billion euros.
"We have invested heavily in Cohedron," says Richard Reis. "We accelerated the improvement of financial functions and, through those seventeen acquisitions, we brought in a new dynamic, creating a lean & mean organization."
"We stay as long as we can create value"
"On average, we stay on board for 5 years after an acquisition," continues Argos Wityu Partner. "But we are flexible in that: sometimes we stay much longer to provide support. We are there as long as we can create value, together with management. Our goal is always to strengthen the business and results, to make rapid progress in the evolving sustainability strategy of organizations. For example, a part of the truck fleet of Schenk Transport is being further sustainable by transitioning to hydrogen-powered trucks."
Meanwhile, in collaboration with TNO, Air Products, and the Port of Rotterdam, Schenk Transport is developing the largest hydrogen filling station in the Netherlands.
Reis describes the Dutch market as 'interesting, challenging, full of possibilities.' "What stands out here is the entrepreneurship of the Management Teams, that connection between the PE party and MT," he says. "Dutch companies and managers are characterized by quality, ambition, and a flexible spirit."
Searching for mid-market companies
Argos Wityu is looking for mid-market companies with a solid foundation and a strong footprint, but that need to solve a complex problem in a certain way. Companies whose growth can be further explored, organizations that can and must internationalize, and those that can further professionalize in terms of strategy, finance, and HR. On behalf of the investment fund, Reis wants to bring together change, finance performance, and internationalization with his team.
Later this year, Argos Wityu plans to open an office in Amsterdam, the seventh European office of the investment fund. Are new deals coming, in line with the recent acquisition of Schenk Transport and the divestment of Cohedron? "There's plenty in the pipeline," says Richard Reis with a smile. "We operate in a very broad spectrum: from a saxophone maker to that organization in industrial baking products. From rail transporters and a water park manufacturer to industrial suppliers. But the common denominator is - always and everywhere - that one ultimate goal: growth and value creation."
