Partners Group
Partners Group is a Switzerland-based global private-markets investment firm serving institutional, wealth-management and other professional investors.
Last updated September 23, 2026
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Overview
Partners Group is a Swiss global investment manager focused on private markets. The firm invests on behalf of institutional investors, private banks, wealth-management clients, family offices and other financial institutions across private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate, private debt and, more recently, private-markets royalties. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer-facing brand, Partners Group functions as an investment platform, fund manager and long-term owner or builder of businesses and assets. The company was founded in Zug in 1996 by Urs Wietlisbach, Marcel Erni and Alfred Gantner. Its early development coincided with the emergence of a more organized European private-equity market. In its second year, the firm launched a small- and mid-cap fund directed at German-speaking Europe. It subsequently became known for secondary-market transactions, including a 1998 purchase involving the private-equity portfolio of Royal Dutch Shell’s United States pension fund. Partners Group also made early investments in technology and industrial businesses, including Esmertec and u-blox. Partners Group expanded from a specialist European investment firm into a global private-markets manager through a combination of direct investments, secondary transactions, customized mandates, pooled funds and evergreen structures. It began developing evergreen private-markets products in the early 2000s and launched a United States-regulated Private Equity Master Fund in 2009. The firm has also participated in the development of European Long-Term Investment Fund solutions and other vehicles intended to broaden access to private assets beyond the traditional large-institutional client base. The company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in 2006. Its employee and partner ownership model has historically given senior investment professionals a significant economic interest in the business. Partners Group later joined the MSCI Switzerland Index and, in September 2020, entered the Swiss Market Index, reflecting its position among Switzerland’s largest listed companies. Its investment activity spans healthcare, technology, industrial services, consumer products, education, energy transition, digital infrastructure, real estate and business services. Portfolio examples and transactions have included Voyage Care, Guardian Early Learning, EyeCare Partners, Breitling, EdgeCore, SureWerx, Version 1, ROSEN Group, Velvet CARE, FairJourney Biologics, Eteck and Gateway Fleets. The firm has also backed decarbonization and climate-technology projects, including Silicon Ranch, the Borssele offshore wind farm and Climeworks. Partners Group’s strategy emphasizes active ownership and operational transformation. Its public positioning describes the firm as a business builder rather than only a provider of capital. In 2024, it introduced the corporate slogan “Built Differently to Build Differently” and a brick-inspired visual identity intended to communicate long-term construction, ownership and value creation. The firm continues to combine institutional private-market investing with efforts to make private assets available through wealth-management, retail-oriented and model-portfolio channels.
History
Partners Group was established in 1996 in Zug, Switzerland, by Urs Wietlisbach, Marcel Erni and Alfred Gantner. The founders contributed equally to the initial business and built the firm during a period when European private equity was less institutionalized than it is today. In 1997, Partners Group launched a small- and mid-cap fund for German-speaking Europe. The following year it completed a major secondary-market transaction involving the private-equity portfolio of a United States pension fund associated with Royal Dutch Shell. This helped establish the firm’s expertise in buying existing private-market exposures as well as making primary and direct investments. During the 2000s, the business broadened its investment platform and international client base. It invested in technology and industrial companies, including Esmertec and Swiss semiconductor manufacturer u-blox, and developed a reputation for combining fund management with customized portfolios. Partners Group also pursued evergreen structures, allowing investors to maintain ongoing exposure to private assets rather than committing only to traditional fixed-life funds. By the middle of the decade, assets under management and staffing had expanded substantially alongside the wider growth of private equity. Partners Group completed an initial public offering on the SIX Swiss Exchange in 2006, while employees and partners retained a substantial ownership interest. In 2009, it launched the Private Equity Master Fund, one of the early United States-regulated private-equity funds designed to provide a broader investor format. The firm continued to grow its private-equity, infrastructure, real-estate and debt capabilities, and its assets under management increased during the global financial crisis recovery period. From 2011 through 2020, Partners Group developed into a global listed private-markets manager. It entered Swiss equity indexes, expanded investment offices and pursued transactions across healthcare, education, energy, real estate, technology and industrial services. In 2013, Christoph Rubeli and André Frei were announced as co-chief executives, succeeding Steffen Meister in the chief-executive role. In 2014, the firm closed a direct-investment fund at its stated hard cap and joined Duke Street Capital in the acquisition of United Kingdom care provider Voyage Care. Its real-estate activity expanded in the United States and London, while the acquisition of Guardian Early Learning in Australia extended its education-services exposure. The firm continued to invest in energy transition and infrastructure. It sold its minority interest in Silicon Ranch to Royal Dutch Shell in 2018 and acquired an interest in the Borssele offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. Other 2018 transactions included Techem, Megadyne and Ammeraal Beltech. In the same year, David Layton succeeded Christoph Rubeli as co-chief executive alongside André Frei. Partners Group subsequently invested in EyeCare Partners, worked with UBS on private-markets distribution and received advisory support from former United Kingdom prime minister Gordon Brown on impact investment. Partners Group joined the Swiss Market Index in September 2020. In the 2020s, the firm increased its focus on climate technology, digital infrastructure, electrification, healthcare, business services and consumer brands. It invested in Climeworks, Budderfly and the Borssele project, acquired EdgeCore, increased its ownership of Breitling, and bought businesses including DiversiTech, Version 1, SureWerx, ROSEN Group, Velvet CARE and FairJourney Biologics. It also selected or managed private-equity programs for institutional clients, including a Shariah-compliant program for Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund. A legal dispute involving MidRail concerned allegations that Partners Group had violated a nondisclosure agreement during a bidding process for Patriot Rail. The parties mutually agreed to dismiss their claims in 2023. In 2024, Partners Group expanded its platform with private-markets royalties, evergreen private-equity solutions, a Hong Kong office and partnerships with BMO and BlackRock aimed at widening access to private assets. The firm also refreshed its corporate identity around the idea of building businesses and assets over the long term. Partners Group remains an active publicly listed private-markets investment manager with a diversified global platform.
- 2024
Platform and brand expansion
[1]Partners Group launched a royalty strategy, expanded evergreen solutions, opened a Hong Kong office and introduced a new corporate identity.
- 2022
Expansion into digital infrastructure
[1]The firm acquired EdgeCore, a United States data-center platform.
- 2020
Added to the Swiss Market Index
[1]Partners Group became one of the 20 companies represented in Switzerland’s principal blue-chip index.
- 2018
David Layton becomes co-chief executive
[1]David Layton replaced Christoph Rubeli as co-chief executive alongside André Frei.
- 2017
European Long-Term Investment Fund launched
[1]Partners Group launched an early European long-term investment fund solution.
- 2013
Co-chief executive model introduced
[1]Christoph Rubeli and André Frei were announced as co-chief executives, with Steffen Meister remaining on the executive board.
- 2009
Private Equity Master Fund launched
[1]The firm introduced a United States-regulated private-equity fund structure.
- 2006
Initial public offering
[1]Partners Group Holding AG began trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
- 1998
Major secondary transaction completed
[1]Partners Group acquired a private-equity portfolio associated with a Royal Dutch Shell pension fund.
- 1997
First major fund launched
[1]The firm launched a small- and mid-cap fund focused on German-speaking Europe.
Products and positioning
A global private-markets investment firm positioned around active ownership, thematic investing, operational value creation and long-term business building. Partners Group serves large institutional investors while increasingly developing structures for wealth-management and other smaller-investor channels.
Investment strategy · 1997
Private equity
Partners Group invests directly in private companies, participates in co-investments and manages diversified private-equity programs. Its approach typically combines the selection of attractive sectors and businesses with active ownership, operational improvement and strategic repositioning. The platform has included buyouts, growth investments, secondary transactions and evergreen structures.
Investment strategy
Private infrastructure
The infrastructure platform targets assets and businesses connected with essential services, energy transition, utilities, transport, digital infrastructure and electrification. Investments and portfolio activity have included offshore wind, solar energy, data centers and fleet-electrification solutions.
Investment strategy
Private real estate
Partners Group invests in real-estate assets and operating platforms in markets including the United States and the United Kingdom. Its activity has included offices, hotels, land and purpose-built student accommodation, with value creation supported through development, repositioning and active asset management.
Investment strategy
Private debt
The firm’s private-debt platform provides exposure to privately originated and negotiated credit investments. It forms part of the broader private-markets offering distributed to institutional, wealth-management and other professional investors.
Investment strategy · 2024
Private-markets royalties
Introduced in 2024, the royalty strategy extends Partners Group’s platform into contractual or economic interests linked to revenues or other asset-generated payments. The firm presented it as a scalable, multi-sector strategy and as an additional asset class alongside private equity, infrastructure, real estate and debt.
Investment vehicle · 2001
Evergreen and ELTIF solutions
Partners Group develops long-duration and evergreen vehicles intended to provide continuing private-markets exposure rather than relying solely on traditional closed-end fund vintages. Its ELTIF-related activity and private-equity evergreen strategy support the firm’s efforts to reach wealth-management clients and smaller institutions.
Controversies
2020
MidRail nondisclosure-agreement dispute
MidRail accused Partners Group of violating a nondisclosure agreement in connection with the bidding process for Patriot Rail. The dispute was litigated, and the parties mutually agreed to dismiss their claims in October 2023.
2020
MidRail sues Partners Group over alleged NDA breaches
MidRail sued Partners Group (USA) in New York State Supreme Court, alleging that the firm breached non-disclosure agreements and used confidential information to compete against it. Partners Group disputed the claims and said it would defend against them.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Built Differently to Build Differently
Global
Partners Group introduced a new corporate brand, logo and slogan centered on the idea that the firm actively builds businesses and assets rather than merely supplying capital. Brick imagery was used to suggest construction, durability and long-term ownership.
Outcome. The campaign became the firm’s updated global corporate positioning.
Brand decisions
2024
Expansion into private-markets royaltiesProduct launchBackground
Partners Group sought to broaden its private-markets platform beyond its established investment categories.
Action taken
The firm launched a scalable multi-sector private-markets royalty strategy.
Aftermath
Royalties became an additional investment category within the firm’s platform.
2024
Partnership with BlackRock on managed private-markets portfoliosStrategyBackground
The firms identified growing demand from wealth-management clients for simplified access to multiple private-asset categories.
Action taken
Partners Group and BlackRock established a strategic partnership to develop model portfolios spanning private equity, private credit and real assets.
Aftermath
The initiative positioned both firms to pursue broader distribution of private-market exposure through managed portfolio formats.
2022
Acquisition of EdgeCoreM&ABackground
Demand for data-center capacity and digital infrastructure made the sector a strategic growth area within private infrastructure.
Action taken
Partners Group acquired EdgeCore, a United States data-center owner and operator.
Aftermath
The firm continued supporting the platform and later led an additional equity financing with participation from clients.
2013
Adoption of a co-chief executive structureOtherBackground
Steffen Meister had led the chief-executive function since 2005 as the firm continued its international expansion.
Action taken
Partners Group announced Christoph Rubeli and André Frei as co-chief executives, while Meister remained an executive board member.
Aftermath
The co-CEO model continued when David Layton replaced Rubeli in 2018.
2009
Launch of the Private Equity Master FundProduct launchBackground
The firm sought to create a private-equity structure capable of serving United States investors under an established regulatory framework.
Action taken
Partners Group launched a United States-regulated Private Equity Master Fund.
Aftermath
The vehicle became an important part of the firm’s effort to broaden private-equity distribution.
2006
Public listing on the SIX Swiss ExchangeStrategyBackground
Partners Group had expanded beyond its original specialist private-equity focus and sought a public-market structure while retaining significant employee and partner ownership.
Action taken
Partners Group Holding AG completed an initial public offering with a minority public float.
Aftermath
The listing provided public-market access and eventually supported the company’s inclusion in major Swiss equity indexes.
Recent events
Reported
OMERS Private Equity announces sale of its Forefront Dermatology interest to Partners Group[4]
OMERS Private Equity announced that it signed an agreement to sell its interest in Forefront Dermatology to Partners Group. The transaction was expected to close in early Q2 2022; OMERS and Forefront were to reinvest as minority owners.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Partners Group and Aboitiz InfraCapital create a telecom infrastructure platform[5]
Partners Group partnered with Aboitiz InfraCapital to create Unity Digital Infrastructure, a platform for telecommunications infrastructure in the Philippines.
MidRail sues Partners Group over alleged NDA breaches[3]
MidRail sued Partners Group (USA) in New York State Supreme Court, alleging that the firm breached non-disclosure agreements and used confidential information to compete against it. Partners Group disputed the claims and said it would defend against them.
- Unconfirmed
TA Associates completes strategic growth investment in Gong cha[6]
TA Associates completed its previously announced strategic growth investment in Gong cha. The transaction’s financial terms were not disclosed.
Reported
TA Associates completes growth investment in Gong cha[7]
TA Associates completed its previously announced strategic growth investment in Gong cha. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Sources7 sources
- 1Partners Groupen.wikipedia.org
- 2Partners Group official websitepartnersgroup.com
- 3MidRail sues Partners Group over alleged NDA breachesinstitutionalinvestor.com
- 4OMERS Private Equity宣布将其Forefront Dermatology权益出售给Partners Groupmenafn.com
- 5Partners Group与Aboitiz InfraCapital成立电信基础设施平台realassets.ipe.com
- 6TA Associates完成对Gong cha的战略增长投资digitalmedianet.com
- 7TA Associates完成对Gong cha的成长型投资finanznachrichten.de
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