Aurelien Klein

Aurélien Klein is a Managing Partner at Chequers Capital, one of continental Europe's longest-established private equity firms. He joined Chequers in 2007 and has spent his entire private equity career at the firm, rising to the partnership. He is a graduate of ESSEC Business School in France.

Before entering private equity, Klein spent close to four years in mergers and acquisitions advisory. He worked in M&A at Bank of America in London and at Close Brothers in Paris, building a foundation in valuation, deal execution, and financial analysis that he carried into the buyout side. His stated skill set spans private equity investment, LBO structuring, due diligence, valuation, and portfolio-company strategy.

Chequers Capital was founded in 1972 (originally as Charterhouse SA) and is headquartered in Paris, with additional offices in Munich and Milan. The firm manages roughly €2 billion in assets, has completed close to 300 investments across nearly 20 investment vehicles, and describes itself as a pan-European, mid-cap buyout specialist focused on B2B companies. Its most recent fund, Chequers Capital XVIII, held its final close at its €1.2 billion target in 2025. Within that platform, Klein operates as a senior dealmaker and board-level investor on portfolio companies.

• Invests through control or significant-minority buyouts (LBOs), not early-stage/venture rounds — the "angel/seed" label attached to him on some contact-database sites is inaccurate.
• Targets asset-light industrials, digital services, and B2B services businesses across Western Europe, with France and Germany as core markets.
• Deploys ~€40m–€150m of equity into companies valued around €80m–€500m, typically primary buyouts — often the first institutional capital into family- or founder-owned businesses.
• Value-creation approach centers on backing incumbent management teams and driving organic growth, buy-and-build M&A, and operational improvement, supported by Chequers' network of executive experts.
• In his own words on the SERMA deal, Klein framed the thesis around growth and specialization: *"SERMA is a high-performing group which has identified very attractive opportunities notably in the test and security sector,"* with the objective of helping management "pursue the growth and specialization of the group."