Management Buy-Out: S-UBG Acquires Shares in Fluvius

Succession Plan in the Sewer Rehabilitation Industry

Aachen, March 6, 2025 – The regional investment company S-UBG AG, based in Aachen, together with NRW.BANK and a member of Fluvius’ management, Sven Breitenfeld (53), is acquiring 100% of the shares in Fluvius GmbH as part of a management buy-out. Breitenfeld will replace the previous Managing Director and majority shareholder, Sebastian Schmitz, and will assume sole leadership of Fluvius as its new Managing Director.

With his extensive industry experience, the successor aims to further strengthen Fluvius’ growth trajectory. In addition to expanding international opportunities, he plans to diversify the company’s portfolio and launch proprietary products on the market.

By selling the company, the founder is proactively addressing succession planning while continuing to support Fluvius in an advisory capacity for a transition period of two years. “I am handing over the company I founded in 2007 into highly capable hands,” says Sebastian Schmitz, founder of Fluvius. “In this situation, a management buy-out is an excellent financing instrument. It ensures that expertise remains within the company and that the growth strategy in an expanding market is continued.”

Fluvius provides products and services for trenchless rehabilitation of underground wastewater, process water, and supply pipelines, as well as in-house pipe rehabilitation. Based in Meerbusch, the company operates throughout Germany and Europe, with two subsidiaries in Sweden and the United Kingdom. The company plans to further expand its international activities in the coming years. “We stand out in the market with superior technologies and our customized technical support,” says Sven Breitenfeld, the new Managing Director of Fluvius. “As the only provider in the industry, we complement existing solutions with our own developments.”

Innovative Technologies and Customer Support from a Single Source

“Supporting entrepreneurial succession solutions through MBOs has been at the core of our business for many years. Fluvius presents ideal conditions with an experienced industry successor already active in the company and a promising market position,” says Bernhard Kugel, CEO of S-UBG AG. “What particularly convinced us is the fact that Fluvius is one of the few distributors with its own DIBt1 approval for key products, giving it a significant competitive advantage.”

Sven Breitenfeld has been Sales Director and a member of the management team at Fluvius since November 2020. With 20 years of experience in the sewer rehabilitation industry and over 25 years of expertise in building international B2B distribution networks, he also brings extensive skills in marketing and trade fair presence.

Press Contact

S-UBG AG
Bernhard Kugel CEO
Markt 45-47
D-52062 Aachen
Tel.: +49 241 – 4 70 56 – 0
kugel@s-ubg.de
www.s-ubg.de

VOCATO public relations GmbH
Corinna Bause / Romy Schächtel
Toyota-Allee 29
50858 Cologne
Tel.: +49 2234 – 60 198 -19 / -23
cbause@vocato.com
rschaechtel@vocato.com
www.vocato.com

About the S-UBG Group

The S-UBG Group, based in Aachen, has been the leading partner for providing equity capital to established medium-sized enterprises (S-UBG AG) and young, technology-driven startups (TechVision Fund) in the economic regions of Aachen, Krefeld, and Mönchengladbach for over 35 years.

S-UBG AG invests in growth industries, with high-quality corporate management being a key investment criterion. It develops investment models for medium-sized companies in both open and silent partnership formats and has extensive experience in expansion financing, shareholder transitions, and succession planning (MBO/MBI), focusing exclusively on minority stakes.

Currently, the S-UBG Group holds investments in nearly 40 companies in the region, securing a leading position within the Sparkassen Financial Group.

For more information: www.s-ubg.de; www.tvf.vc 

Image Caption: From left: Sellers Maarten Heekeren, Lutz Berkenbrink, and Sebastian Schmitz, along with buyers Sven Breitenfeld, Humberto Duarte (S-UBG AG), Bernhard Kugel (S-UBG AG), Claudia Köppe (NRW.BANK), and Michael Küting (NRW.BANK).

Image Credit: Christoph Butz, Butz Consult