Aurelius Group
German alternative investment group specializing in private equity, private debt, real estate, corporate carve-outs, and operational transformation.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Aurelius Group is a German alternative investment firm headquartered in Munich. Founded in 2005 by former McKinsey consultants Dirk Markus and Gert Purkert, it began as a privately held investment vehicle intended to acquire small and medium-sized companies. Its investment approach has centered on situations in which a business can be separated from a larger parent, stabilized operationally, restructured, and subsequently developed or sold. This has positioned Aurelius within the European market for complex corporate carve-outs and special situations rather than as a conventional growth-oriented buyout firm. The group’s activities span private equity, private debt, and real estate investments. Its geographic platform has included offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, London, Luxembourg, Malta, Milan, Munich, New York, and Stockholm, giving it a presence across major European financial centers as well as in the United States. The organization’s investment model is associated with acquiring businesses that may require operational improvement, portfolio separation, management support, or a change in strategic direction. Because its portfolio companies have operated across different sectors, Aurelius is better understood as a diversified investment platform than as a consumer-facing brand with a single product category. Aurelius developed a public-market structure relatively early in its history. In 2006, Aurelius AG was admitted to the Open Market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The corporate structure was converted into an SE & Co. KGaA in 2015. The listed-market phase ended when the group withdrew from the stock exchange at the end of 2023. At the end of 2024, the listed entity was renamed AUR Portfolio III SE & Co. KGaA, reflecting a corporate-structure change rather than a remapping of the subject to another company. The group has also expanded its fund platform. In April 2021, it launched AURELIUS Opportunities Fund IV, a fund with more than €500 million in committed capital focused on complex carve-outs and operational transformation. Its investor base was described as including university endowments, pension funds, insurers, and family offices in Europe and the United States. In June 2025, AURELIUS Opportunities Fund V was announced with €830 million in committed capital and a broadly similar strategy and investor profile. These vehicles illustrate Aurelius’s continuing emphasis on institutional capital, special situations, and hands-on value creation. Aurelius’s positioning is therefore that of a cross-border alternative investor with expertise in corporate separations, restructuring, and post-acquisition improvement. The group’s history combines an initially privately held investment vehicle, a period as a Frankfurt-listed company, and a later fund-centered platform operating across private equity, private debt, and real estate. Publicly available reference material does not provide a complete current portfolio, detailed financial statements, or a definitive list of current executives, so those fields are limited here to information directly supported by the supplied sources.
History
Aurelius was founded in 2005 by Dirk Markus and Gert Purkert, both of whom had previously worked as consultants at McKinsey. The business began as a privately held investment vehicle with start-up capital of €500,000 and an initial mandate to invest in small and medium-sized companies. Rather than concentrating on one industry, the firm developed a diversified special-situations model in which acquired businesses could be separated from larger corporate groups, restructured, and operationally improved. In 2006, Aurelius AG entered the Open Market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The listing gave the company a public-market structure during an important stage of its development, while its investment activities remained focused on acquisitions and restructuring. In 2015, the corporate form was changed to an SE & Co. KGaA. The company later moved away from its listed-market structure and withdrew from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at the end of 2023. At the end of 2024, the relevant entity was renamed AUR Portfolio III SE & Co. KGaA. Over time, Aurelius broadened its platform beyond traditional corporate acquisitions. The group describes its investment scope as including private equity, private debt, and real estate. Its office network has included Amsterdam, Chicago, London, Luxembourg, Malta, Milan, Munich, New York, and Stockholm. This network supports a cross-border approach to sourcing and managing investments, particularly in Europe, while also connecting the group with North American capital and investment markets. Fund formation became an important part of the group’s later development. In April 2021, Aurelius launched AURELIUS Opportunities Fund IV with more than €500 million in committed capital. The fund focused on complicated corporate carve-outs and operational transformation, and its investors included university endowments, pension funds, insurance companies, and family offices from Europe and the United States. In June 2025, AURELIUS Opportunities Fund V followed with €830 million in committed capital. The fifth fund pursued substantially the same strategy and had a broadly comparable investor base. The resulting business is an alternative investment group rather than a conventional operating company. Its value-creation thesis is built around identifying businesses that require separation from a parent company, financial or operational restructuring, management support, or strategic repositioning. The public reference material does not establish a complete list of portfolio companies, current senior management, or the group’s latest consolidated financial performance. Accordingly, this history focuses on the documented corporate development, investment scope, fund launches, and changes in listing status.
- 2025
Opportunities Fund V reaches €830 million
[1]AURELIUS Opportunities Fund V is launched with €830 million in committed capital and a strategy continuing Fund IV’s focus.
- 2024
Entity renamed AUR Portfolio III
[1]At the end of 2024, the relevant corporate entity is renamed AUR Portfolio III SE & Co. KGaA.
- 2023
End of stock-exchange listing
[1]Aurelius withdraws from the stock exchange at the end of the year.
- 2021
Opportunities Fund IV launched
[1]AURELIUS Opportunities Fund IV is launched with more than €500 million in committed capital for carve-outs and operational transformation.
- 2015
Conversion to SE & Co. KGaA
[1]The company changes its legal structure to an SE & Co. KGaA.
- 2006
Admission to Frankfurt’s Open Market
[1]Aurelius AG becomes listed in the Open Market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
- 2005
Aurelius is founded
[1]Dirk Markus and Gert Purkert establish Aurelius as a privately held investment vehicle focused initially on small and medium-sized companies.
Products and positioning
Cross-border alternative investment platform focused on complex corporate carve-outs, restructuring, operational transformation, private equity, private debt, and real estate.
Alternative investment · 2005
Private equity investments
Aurelius uses private-equity capital to acquire and develop companies, especially businesses that may benefit from separation from a larger corporate parent, restructuring, operational support, or strategic repositioning. The approach is diversified across industries rather than tied to a single consumer or industrial product category.
Alternative investment
Private debt investments
Private debt is one of the investment areas identified for the Aurelius platform. The supplied reference material does not specify the group’s debt instruments, fund structures, or portfolio composition, but places private lending alongside private equity and real estate within its broader alternative-investment activities.
Real estate investment
Real estate investments
Aurelius also invests in real estate as part of its diversified alternative-investment platform. Available reference material does not identify specific properties, strategies, or geographic allocations, so this entry records only the documented investment category.
Private equity fund · 2021
AURELIUS Opportunities Fund IV
Launched in April 2021, Opportunities Fund IV is designed for complex corporate carve-outs and operational transformation. It was described as having more than €500 million in committed capital and attracted capital from United States and European university endowments, pension funds, insurers, and family offices.
Private equity fund · 2025
AURELIUS Opportunities Fund V
Announced in June 2025, Opportunities Fund V continues the predecessor vehicle’s focus on complex carve-outs and operational transformation. It was reported with €830 million in committed capital and a largely similar institutional and family-office investor base to Fund IV.
Brand decisions
2025
Launch of AURELIUS Opportunities Fund VProduct launchBackground
Aurelius continued the Opportunities Fund series after Fund IV, maintaining its focus on complex carve-outs and operational transformation.
Action taken
The group launched Opportunities Fund V with €830 million in committed capital.
Aftermath
The fifth fund expanded the committed capital base for the group’s established investment strategy.
Committed capital. €830 million (June 2025 launch)
2023
Withdrawal from the stock exchangeStrategyBackground
After a period as a company listed in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Open Market, Aurelius changed its public-market status.
Action taken
The group withdrew from the stock exchange at the end of 2023.
Aftermath
Aurelius continued as an alternative investment platform, while the relevant corporate entity was later renamed AUR Portfolio III SE & Co. KGaA.
2021
Launch of AURELIUS Opportunities Fund IVProduct launchBackground
Aurelius sought to expand its institutional fund platform around its established carve-out and transformation strategy.
Action taken
The group launched Opportunities Fund IV with more than €500 million in committed capital.
Aftermath
The vehicle extended Aurelius’s fund-based approach to complex corporate separations and operational improvement.
Committed capital. More than €500 million (April 2021 launch)
2015
Corporate conversion to SE & Co. KGaAStrategyBackground
Aurelius changed its legal form during its period as a Frankfurt-listed investment company.
Action taken
The company was converted into an SE & Co. KGaA.
Aftermath
The new structure remained in place until the group’s later withdrawal from the stock exchange and subsequent entity renaming.
Recent events
- 2025
Aurelius Opportunities Fund V secures €830 million[1]
Product launch
AURELIUS Opportunities Fund V reached €830 million in committed capital. It continued the predecessor fund’s focus on complex carve-outs and operational transformation and drew on a similar base of European and United States institutional investors.
- 2023
Aurelius withdraws from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange[1]
Other
The group ended its period as a publicly traded company by withdrawing from the stock exchange at the end of 2023.
- 2021
Aurelius launches Opportunities Fund IV[1]
Product launch
Aurelius launched its fourth Opportunities Fund with more than €500 million in committed capital. The vehicle targeted complex corporate carve-outs and operational transformation and was backed by institutional investors and family offices.
Sources3 sources
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