Electrical Engineering in the Mid-Market: Why Switchgear Manufacturers and Electrical Contractors Are Attracting Investor Attention
Energy transition, grid expansion, data centers, industrial automation - the list of megatrends currently driving the electrical engineering sector is long. And it does not only affect specialized niche manufacturers, but the entire mid-market segment: from switchgear manufacturers with their own production capabilities to established electrical contractors with long-standing customer relationships. What they have in common: They are systemically relevant infrastructure service providers - and that is precisely why they are increasingly moving into the focus of strategic buyers and private equity platforms.
What Is Driving the Market Right Now
The electrical engineering sector in the DACH region is operating in a structural growth environment that is expected to strengthen over several years. Three drivers are particularly relevant.
Energy transition and grid expansion. Germany generated around 58.8% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2025 - and every new installation requires feed-in panels, transformer stations, switchgear and qualified installation. Grid expansion across all voltage levels is designed for decades and creates an order pipeline that is largely independent of economic cycles.
Data centers and AI infrastructure. According to current forecasts, the energy demand of data centers is expected to triple by 2035. Every new site requires medium-voltage systems, low-voltage distribution boards, UPS systems and a complete electrical installation - from the transformer station to the final sub-distribution board.
Reindustrialization and automation. Production facilities are being modernized, new manufacturing lines are being built and processes are being digitalized. This creates demand for control systems, PLC-based automation technology and qualified electrical contractors capable of delivering complex industrial projects.
Two Types of Companies, One Value Chain
At the center of this growth environment are two types of companies that often work closely together in practice.
Switchgear manufacturers plan, develop, manufacture and test electrical systems: low-voltage main distribution boards, medium-voltage switchgear, control and automation systems, and MCR control cabinets. Their value creation lies in engineering and manufacturing - they deliver systems, not hours.
Electrical contractors bring these systems to their place of operation: They lay cables, connect systems, commission equipment and provide ongoing support. Their value lies in customer access, regional presence, maintenance framework agreements and the ability to coordinate complex projects on-site.
Both company types are indispensable within the value chain - and both benefit from the same megatrends. No data center can operate without switchgear, but neither can it operate without the specialists who commission its electrical infrastructure. No wind farm functions without feed-in switchgear, but neither without qualified installation on-site.
For platform buyers and strategic investors, this complementarity is the key attraction: Those who combine both sides of the value chain under one roof can serve customers end-to-end - from system planning to ongoing maintenance. This is the logic currently driving the M&A market in this segment.
What Is Already Happening in the Market
The consolidation trend is no longer a forecast - it can be observed in concrete transactions.
LET Group → E.GRUPPE (GIMV)
The LET Group - consisting of LET Lüddecke, ESV Erfurter Schaltschrankbau, IMB Energy Systems and further entities - was acquired by E.GRUPPE in 2025. The buyer is a private equity platform backed by GIMV, which has been systematically consolidating electrical engineering companies in the DACH region since 2021. LET Group covered switchgear manufacturing, UPS systems and power distribution — a classic example of a mid-market company with significant in-house value creation that is integrated as a strategic building block into a larger platform structure. Following the transaction, E.GRUPPE has around 365 employees across ten locations.
Leukhardt Schaltanlagen → VINCI Energies (Omexom)
In 2025, VINCI Energies acquired Leukhardt Schaltanlagen GmbH, based in Immendingen - a specialist in customized low- and medium-voltage switchgear with around 63 employees and revenue of approximately EUR 16 million. The transaction followed another Leukhardt acquisition in the previous year: Leukhardt Schaltanlagen Systemtechnik GmbH, based in Schwerin/Magdeburg, with around 169 employees and revenue of approximately EUR 23 million. With these acquisitions, VINCI Energies is pursuing a clear serial acquisition strategy: Mid-market specialists are integrated into the Actemium and Omexom networks in order to serve customers across the entire energy infrastructure value chain.
Both transactions follow the same logic: Strategic buyers are not looking for size alone, but for substance - technical expertise, established customer relationships, regional presence and capabilities that can be embedded into a larger network.
What Investors Are Looking For - and What Drives Value
For buyers and investors active in the electrical engineering mid-market, there are several recurring valuation logics - regardless of whether the company is a switchgear manufacturer or an electrical contractor.
Technical expertise and depth of value creation. The more in-house engineering, manufacturing capabilities or system expertise a company has, the higher its strategic relevance. This applies both to switchgear manufacturers with their own type-testing capabilities and to electrical contractors with specialized industrial expertise.
Customer base and repeatability. Maintenance framework agreements, long-term agreements with industrial customers or a broad regional customer base create predictability - and predictability improves valuations. One-off project business without follow-on potential is significantly less attractive from an investor perspective than a business model with structural recurring components.
Skilled workforce and independence from the owner. In a market where qualified electrical engineers, master electricians and project managers are scarce, a stable team is a value driver in its own right. Buyers pay a premium for companies that are not fully dependent on the owner and whose operational management is distributed across several people.
Strategic fit within a platform structure. Companies that understand which gap they fill within a larger value chain - whether as a switchgear manufacturer for an installation group or as a regional electrical contractor for a supra-regional switchgear specialist - have a clear advantage in the transaction process.
What This Means for Business Owners
The market is sending a clear signal: Demand for qualified electrical engineering companies in the DACH region exceeds the available supply of attractive targets. Strategic buyers such as VINCI Energies are already active, while private equity platforms such as E.GRUPPE are systematically expanding their presence.
For business owners - whether switchgear manufacturers or electrical contractors - this means that those planning succession or reviewing strategic options are operating in a favorable market environment. The key question is not whether there is buyer interest, but how the company can be positioned so that the right buyer recognizes the right value.
This process starts early: with a clear understanding of the company’s strengths, a compelling equity story and an understanding of which platform logic the company best fits into. Those who invest in this work before the process shape the outcome. Those who try to catch up during the process lose time - and often valuation potential.
If you, as a shareholder or managing director, would like to assess which options for succession, sale, growth or strategic partnership are realistic, a structured evaluation of the buyer landscape and value drivers is worthwhile.
MIND supports mid-market entrepreneurs in assessing such options discreetly, professionally and with an entrepreneurial perspective.
