Here you will find a list of almost 35 of the largest private equity and investment firms in Switzerland that have a focus or a strong emphasis on the healthcare sector.

The healthcare and medical technology sectors are of great importance in Switzerland. Numerous young, medium-sized, and larger established companies vie for the attention of investment companies. These include early-stage VCs, biotech special funds, corporate VCs, growth equity funds, buyout PEs, and family offices.

The following sub-sectors are represented:

1. Medical technology / medtech (1,400 companies with over 71,000 employees),
2. Healthtech & digital health,
3. Pharma & biopharma (including biotech),
4. Healthcare services (clinic and nursing operators, outpatient care providers, medical care centers, etc.),
5. Life science tools & services (laboratory equipment, CROs/CDMOs, research service providers),
6. Wellness, prevention & nutrition.

These private equity firms all invest in Switzerland and typically have their registered office in Switzerland (possibly with headquarters abroad). They invest, among other things, to manage succession in companies, often medium-sized ones, e.g., because no family members are available and the entrepreneur is considering selling the company. If a successor is brought in from outside, this is referred to as a management buy-in. If this successor is acquired from the existing management, usually at the second level, this is referred to as a management buy-out. If both apply, it is referred to as a "bimbo." In all situations, the private equity firm usually acquires the majority of shares from the previous entrepreneur/owner and transfers shares to the new management at preferential terms to motivate them to deliver top performance. In quite a few cases, the previous owner also reacquires shares at this stage through a reinvestment. This creates trust for the acquirer, but also for the clients and the financing banks. At the same time, it helps to further safeguard the valuable know-how of the previous management. For this purpose, an advisory board is often established, on which the former entrepreneur is also offered a seat alongside external experts.
In addition to succession planning, investment opportunities also include the acquisition of corporate units or divisions that are no longer part of the core business (non-core). In a so-called spin-off, less profitable divisions are "spun out" of the group and spun off into a separate, legally independent entity. The group aims to thereby improve its strategic position and become more profitable. These new group companies can then be sold to third parties, either in full or in part, as part of so-called (equity) carve-outs. This gives them the opportunity to flourish significantly as the new core business of the acquirer (e.g., the PE firm).
With a buy-and-build strategy, PE funds consolidate highly fragmented industries. They first acquire a platform company through an acquiring holding company and then acquire smaller, strategically suitable industry players. They usually acquire the latter at lower purchase price multiples. Then, as part of the consolidation, central functions are combined and synergies, such as purchasing advantages, are achieved. Smaller acquisitions with unique selling propositions – e.g., specialized products – can also significantly increase the value of the holding company, as existing customers of the small company also purchase me-too products from the holding company, thereby increasing their revenues. In the event of a later sale, the private equity firm attempts to sell to the largest market participants at significantly higher sales multiples or, if possible, attempts an IPO.
Some private equity funds specialize in restructuring and turnaround cases ("distressed" cases). Here, they enter companies that are on the verge of insolvency due to mismanagement at low prices and attempt to bring the companies back to life through specialized management expertise and capital. A significantly higher risk, if successful, is rewarded with a multiple of the initial purchase price upon subsequent sale. While a traditional private equity firm aims to double its invested capital on average as part of growth strategies, restructuring funds tend to aim for five to ten times the amount. In all of the aforementioned cases, a majority stake is usually sought in order to better implement all measures.

Locations where most of the PE investors are based in Switzerland:

Zurich
Pfäffikon / Zurich
Zug incl. Baar
Geneva
Vaduz

The list of top private equity investors is available as an Excel file with the following information:

Contact details of the PE firm, i.e., email address, telephone number, and business address of the company, URL
Managing Directors / Board Members / Partners
Usually two contacts at management level, if applicable, with links to their LinkedIn/Xing profiles.f published:

Direct phone number, personal email address
Link to team page
Link to portfolio page or selected investments, here special to deals made and exited in the health sector
Foundation date
Investment focus by industry and region
Investment stage (growth, buyout, distressed)
Strategy (buy & build, spin-off, carve-out)
Does the PE fund also operate – but not exclusively! – as a fund of funds (FoF)?
Does the PE firm also provide – but not exclusively – debt financing?
Type of investment; Majority and/or minority shareholdings, mezzanine
Transaction volume and Cap Tier (Small, Mid, Large Cap)
Equity investment from... to... million euros, transaction amount
Turnover of the target companies from... to... million euros
Name of the current fund including year of launch and volume
Amount of assets under management (AUM)
Investors come from which category: private investors/family office, fund of funds/FoF, pension fund/pension fund, insurance company, credit/financial institution/bank, church investor, foreign wealth fund (sovereign wealth fund), foundation (endowment), company, etc.?
Shareholders
Association membership
Date of file creation, last update, and type/content of changes.

For around 35 companies, around 40 columns need to be filled in, theoretically representing around 1,400 data points. Some of these are not filled in due to data not (yet) available and are marked with n/a or left blank.
You will receive 1-2 updates free of charge in the year following your purchase. New companies are added to these lists, and existing entries are reviewed, corrected, or supplemented.

Still unsure?

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Here you'll see several original industry participants. You won't find so many columns with hand-picked information anywhere else!

Have you seen our other private equity lists? For example, the Switzerland list without a sector focus? Or for Germany and Austria? Benelux and France are in the pipeline.