Duesseldorf, 14 December 2017 – The Schönes Leben Group, a subsidiary of the independent holding company Waterland, has acquired the Ulm-based care specialist compassio – a company currently operating 28 senior citizens‘ homes with a capacity for 3,058 patients in southern Germany.
With this acquisition, the recent and newly founded Schönes Leben Group is taking its first steps towards becoming an outstanding platform for providing geriatric care, new forms of residential living for the elderly and innovative services for people over 65. The care specialist compassio, with approximately 110 million EUR in revenue, forms the first strategic pillar.
„We have noticed that customer needs are changing rapidly in this market and we are responding to this with the Schönes Leben Group. We will provide new ideas and offer new types of services that have not been available before,“ says Marc Hildebrand, CEO Schönes Leben Group.
The services provided by Schönes Leben are not only aimed at people in need of care, Hildebrand emphasizes, but also at people over 65 who want to lead more active and purposeful lives.
Further locations planned for compassio
Hildebrand further clarifies: “ compassio, with its holistic concept, compassio 5.0, has recognized the signs of the times at an early stage and responds with great flexibility to customer requirements through an intelligent combination of outpatient, inpatient and general services at all 28 locations in Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.“ The CEO of the Schönes Leben Group has also indicated that compassio’s operations will be expanded further: “We want to roll out our high-quality services on the market throughout Germany in the coming years, primarily through strong organic growth and new properties.“
„The proven quality of compassio in our 28 facilities, the 11 outpatient services and our central administration in Ulm are an excellent basis for the planned platform of the Schönes Leben Group,“ says Wolfgang Frühschütz, Managing Director of compassio Group.
Dr. Carsten Rahlfs, Partner at Waterland, adds: „The acquisition of compassio lays the foundation for the Schönes Leben Group. Geriatric care, is now very well positioned and offers tremendous growth potential.“
The transaction is subject to approval by the anti-monopoly office. The parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality regarding the purchase price.

About Schönes Leben

Schönes Leben is a portfolio business of the independent investment company Waterland.
The goal of the company is to create a platform that offers services to people over 65 who want to lead more active and purposeful lives. The first pillar of the company is geriatric care – administered by the care specialist compassio with headquarters in Ulm.

About Waterland

Waterland is an independent investment company that supports companies in realizing their growth potential. With substantial financial resources and industry expertise, Waterland has been able to accelerate the growth of its investments both organically and through acquisitions. Waterland has offices in the Netherlands (Bussum), Belgium (Antwerp), Germany (Munich, Hamburg/Düsseldorf), Poland (Warsaw), Great Britain (Manchester) and Denmark (Copenhagen). Currently, capital commitments of 6 billion Euro are being managed.
In addition to the Schönes Leben Group, Waterland has invested in numerous other companies in the health sector and has extensive experience there. The Waterland strategy focuses on growth through acquisitions (so-called „Buy & Build“). Waterland, for example, has expanded MEDIAN through 16 acquisitions from the RHM Group; in 2011, the former RHM Group had just under 2,000 beds; today MEDIAN provides care for over 18,000 patients.
Waterland has consistently achieved well above average performance levels with its investments since its establishment in 1999. In the current HEC/Dow Jones Private Equity Performance Ranking, compiled by Prof. Gottschalg of the HEC Paris Business School, Waterland was ranked first as a Global Private Equity Firm in the fall of 2016 and in recent years has regularly been among the top 3 Consistent Performing Buyout Fund Managers worldwide in the „Preqin Consistent Performers in Global Private Equity & Venture Capital Report.”