Ardian acquires a stake in Kapten & Son, a leading german brand for accessories and lifestyle products

Paris/Cologne/Frankfurt, March 10, 2021 - Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces a minority investment in Kapten & Son, a German brand specializing in the online retail sale of lifestyle and fashion accessories. This minority stake acquisition through one of its Ardian Growth funds marks the first investment in Germany by Ardian Growth and it will enable the team to support Kapten & Son’s founders in their European ambitions. 

Founded in 2014, by Johannes Theobald, Artjem Weissbeck, and Fabian Deventer, Kapten & Son has established itself as a leading name in the German fashion and lifestyle accessories market and begun its expansion in Europe. Over the past two years, Kapten & Son has increased its turnover to over 50 million Euro, fueled by the quality of its products, its Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) strategy and its extensive expertise across marketing and data analysis.

Ardian Growth will support the founders as a strategic partner to build and grow the business. The team at Ardian Growth boasts a strong track record in this space, substantiated by experience gathered across the e-commerce market. In addition, Ardian will support the internationalization by leveraging its global network and its expertise in targeted build-up strategy.

Johannes Theobald, co-founder, stated: "We are proud to have been able to create a leading brand in Germany thanks to the quality of our products and the knowledge we have of our customers’ expectations. We now want to accelerate and expand in Europe.”
Fabian Deventer, co-founder, added: "Products are one of the strengths of Kapten & Son. Our marketing expertise, combined with our knowledge of customers’ expectations thanks to our data analysis tools, are elements that clearly differentiate our model.”

Artjem Weissbeck, co-founder, commented: "We were not just looking for a financing but for a true strategic partner who could understand our growth challenges and the specificities of online sales and help us make potential acquisitions. Ardian convinced us on these three aspects and their pan-European reach.”
Laurent Foata, Managing Director and Head of Ardian Growth commented: "Currently, we invest in France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and in Benelux and we have demonstrated track record of our ability to help companies meet their aims and objectives. For us, Germany represents a target market in which we aim to continue investing. We are pleased to take this first step with a company as dynamic as Kapten & Son.”
Romain Chiudini, Director at Ardian Growth, continues: "We recognized in Kapten & Son, and moreover in management team, all the qualities we search in fast growing companies in Digital market. Their value of entrepreneurship, innovation and ambition are similar to ours. Kapten & Son is now sized to build its position as a leading player in the new e-commerce generation, which is considered to be a particularly buoyant sector."