ifm welcomes strategic partner to accelerate global growth

26/5/25

Martin Buck (left) and Michael Marhofer (right), co-CEOs ifm.

ifm today announced a strategic partnership and minority investment from KKR, a global investment firm. The founding families, along with co-CEOs Martin Buck and Michael Marhofer, will remain majority owners and continue leading the company.

A global leader in industrial automation and Industry 4.0 technologies, ifm serves over 150,000 customers with a portfolio spanning sensors, connectivity solutions, software, and cloud platforms. With more than 9,000 employees worldwide, ifm is driving the digital transformation of industry, helping customers boost uptime, efficiency, and safety.

As a family-owned company, our goal is to ensure ifm’s future success and sustainable growth for the next generation. This partnership marks an important milestone for ifm as we have found the right strategic partner who also shares our core values, supports our growth ambitions as well as the vision that has guided the company for over five decades.

Michael Marhofer co-CEO of ifm

The investment will allow us to not only strengthen our global position as leaders in innovation and technology even further but also continue setting new standards in industrial automation and digitalisation. This partnership will enable us to unlock our full potential. As the company’s founding families, we have always been and will remain deeply committed to ifm’s long-term success.

Martin Buck co-CEO of ifm

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

About KKR

Founded in 1976 by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR is now a leading global investor with 664 billion USD in assets under management across public and private markets. Germany is one of KKR's most important European markets. Since 1999, KKR has invested over €18 billion in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), supporting more than 35 portfolio companies and over 45,000 employees. KKR has been a trusted partner to founders and family-owned businesses in Germany for 25 years, helping them to compete internationally and handle the increasing pressure to transform. KKR also has an impressive track record in developing leading technology companies through global investments, including Körber Supply Chain Software (Infios), DATAGROUP and OHB.

ifm at a glance

The ifm group of companies is a global industry leader for innovative sensors, controllers and systems for industrial automation.

Compliance

We do a lot for these moral values and compliance with them because we have always done what we have meant and said.

Our vision:

Close to you – to be our customers' first choice for innovative automation technology and digitalisation.