Ingo Krocke

Dr. Ingo Krocke is the founder and CEO of AUCTUS Capital Partners AG, a Munich-based private equity firm focused on European SMEs. AUCTUS says it was founded in 2001 and has completed more than 470 investments, manages around 50 platform investments, and focuses on majority stakes in companies with annual sales generally between EUR 10 million and EUR 150 million.

Krocke’s career began outside finance: he studied medicine in Bonn and Paris and then worked as a doctor in Barcelona and New York. He later moved into industry as a brand manager at Procter & Gamble, working from Frankfurt and London on brands including Ellen Betrix, Oil of Olaz, Cover Girl and Always.

He entered private equity at Apax Partners, where he focused on medical technology, consumer goods, retail and IT, with exposure to management buyouts and growth financings. Before founding AUCTUS, he was founder and managing director of Wellington Partners in Munich, where he and two partners built an IT- and services-focused investment company with 15 managers and a EUR 250 million fund volume.

Krocke is also active in the German private equity industry association BVK. BVK lists Dr. Ingo Krocke and Ulrike Hinrichs as board spokespersons, and LinkedIn activity from 2024 described him as chairman of the board of BVK.

• “We give our companies the time they need to turn a good medium-sized company into a global market leader.”
• AUCTUS’s core model is buy-and-build: acquire majority stakes in profitable SMEs, preserve entrepreneurial independence, and support organic growth plus add-on acquisitions.
• New platform targets are Europe-wide, typically EUR 10-200 million turnover, EBIT above EUR 2 million, sustainably profitable, led by strong management teams, and positioned in markets with growth or consolidation potential.
• Add-on targets can be worldwide, from small to very large companies, and must add strategic value to an existing buy-and-build platform.
• The firm looks for fragmented markets, succession situations, and companies that can become regional, national or international market leaders through consolidation and operational professionalization.
• Krocke’s own listed sector expertise is business services, including marketing, outsourcing and personnel services, plus education.