Andera Partners invests in exceet Card Group

Andera Partners made a sponsorless mezzanine investment in exceet Card Group on 19 February 2026 through its Acto V fund, enabling founders Ulrich Reutner and Robert Wolny to increase their holding following the exit of a minority shareholder. It was the ninth transaction from that fund, which closed at 1.1 billion euros, and one of the first outside France under its pan-European strategy. Founded in 2008 and based at Kematen in Tirol, exceet manufactures and personalises smart cards and security documents: payment cards for banks, identity cards and passport datapages for governments, access badges and transport cards, together with the antennas making them contactless. It produces more than 400 million units a year across six sites in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark and the Czech Republic, and employs 335 people. The work rests on accreditation. Producing payment cards requires certification by Visa and Mastercard, and producing passports and identity documents requires security clearances and conformity with ISO 14298, which governs the physical and procedural controls over secure printing. Those approvals attach to each site, take years to obtain and are audited continuously, which is what separates this activity from ordinary card printing. The group had expanded through acquisitions, including the Scandinavian identity solutions provider idpeople in January 2024, and had moved its payment card production towards recycled PVC and PET. The mezzanine structure, which combines subordinated debt with a limited equity component, allowed the founders to buy out their minority shareholder without ceding control, a structure Andera Acto applies across its portfolio. Rödl & Partner advised the sellers on the M&A, with LeitnerLaw as legal counsel, while Hogan Lovells advised Andera Partners.

The acquisition of exceet Card Group is part of the growth strategy of Andera Partners, which already has several external growth operations under its belt, notably Spherea in 2025.