HQ Group to combine and rebrand private equity and real estate businesses

The HQ Group will be combining Auda, its private equity business, and Real Estate Capital Partners, its real estate business, under the HQ Capital brand. Also, HQ’s mid-cap buyout firm Equita will become an HQ Capital subsidiary and be renamed HQ Equita. As a result of these moves, HQ Capital will become an alternative investments provider, managing over $12 billion in private equity and real estate.

PRESS RELEASE

Frankfurt, September 1, 2015. The HQ Group today announced that it will combine its private equity and real estate businesses under the HQ Capital brand. This move will create a leading global independent alternative investment manager, with currently more than US$12 billion under management in private equity and real estate.
As part of the rebranding, Auda, the private equity firm, and Real Estate Capital Partners, the real estate investment company, will operate under the new HQ Capital brand. Equita, the mid-cap buyout firm, will become a subsidiary of HQ Capital and be renamed HQ Equita.

“We have been investing in alternative assets for over 25 years, which makes us one of the pioneers in our industry,” said Dr. Ernest Boles, Chief Executive Officer of HQ Capital. “Our clients appreciate our experience and stability as well as the entrepreneurial perspective we bring to investing. By combining our resources under a single operating structure, we will create a broader investment program and service platform for our clients, while at the same time generating new growth opportunities for our firm.”

Alongside Dr. Boles, the management team of HQ Capital includes Dr. Georg Wunderlin as Chief Operating Officer, Tim Avery, Chief Financial Officer, and David Pierce, Head of Asia. Together with Karin Shewer, Paul Doocy, Steve Wesson and Chris Lawrence, the management team will form a cross-functional operating committee to oversee the strategic direction of the firm.

The three-member supervisory board of HQ Capital is chaired by Dr. Thomas Jetter, who has more than 30 years of capital market experience. He is also chairman of the supervisory board of Sirona Dental Systems, Inc. The other members of the supervisory board include Gabriele Quandt and Dr. Axel May.

In private equity, HQ Capital provides a full range of investment programs through funds and separate accounts, including primary fund investing, the acquisition of assets on the secondary market and co-investments with primary fund managers. HQ Equita pursues buy-out opportunities in mid-cap enterprises in the German-speaking regions of Europe.

In real estate, HQ Capital invests in existing properties as well as in real estate development projects across the United States. Investments include multifamily residential, office, industrial, retail, hotel and mixed-use properties. Investment strategies range from core and value-add acquisitions to opportunistic joint venture developments.
In both businesses, HQ Capital seeks to leverage its extensive global network to provide clients with the benefit of its investment experience and the relationships of its local teams on the ground in Europe, North America and Asia.

Clients of HQ Capital include institutional investors such as pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, as well as family offices and high net worth individuals.

HQ Capital is a leading independent alternative investment manager with currently more than US$12 billion under management. HQ Capital combines investment expertise in private equity and real estate under a single brand with currently 137 employees in Frankfurt, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Washington D.C., London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Additional information is available at www.hqcapital.com.