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Germany’s Mittelstand is entering a generational handover. Hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized companies will face a succession decision in the coming years as a generation of founders and owners reaches retirement. Many of these businesses are profitable, well-run, and central to their regions and industries – yet a significant share will close simply because no suitable successor steps in. The result is lost jobs, lost expertise, and lost capacity in what has long been the backbone of the European economy.
trolega was founded to be part of the answer. The mission is direct: acquire one outstanding German Mittelstand company through succession, take operational responsibility, and lead it into its next chapter – preserving what the owner has built while developing it for the long term.
Behind trolega is Tobias Röhrl, a German operator and entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience working alongside founders and owners. His background combines entrepreneurial execution with operational leadership: founding and exiting his own eCommerce brand, holding senior operating roles in scaling companies, and advising family-owned businesses as a fractional COO – including a 100-year-old family-owned company going through internal succession. Having lived succession from inside a multi-generational business, Tobias is a bridge builder between tradition and innovation.
trolega is backed by a selective and diverse group of investors, including Alza Capital, OnetoOne Asset Management, Linta Partners, LeFonds Capital, EPA Investissements, Cabiedes Capital, along with several family offices, former German searchers, and private investors.
The search focus is on established, owner-managed B2B companies in the DACH region with strong management teams, loyal customer relationships, and a proven track record of profitability. The target profile includes businesses generating €5–30M in revenue and €1–5M in EBITDA, typically employing between 30 and 150 people, with a preference for recurring or highly recurring revenue. trolega is sector-agnostic and focused on resilient business models with a genuine succession opportunity – where the owner is looking for a successor to preserve and build on the company’s legacy.
