Long-term capital
Family money with no fixed exit date. We think in generations rather than fund cycles and stay invested for as long as it benefits the business.
Alantana · Family holding
Long-term entrepreneurial capital for the DACH region
Alantana invests in established distribution and service businesses across Germany, Austria and Switzerland — working alongside their management personally and as an equal partner.
What we do
Investments with a clear agenda
We invest in small and mid-sized distribution and service businesses in the DACH region. Our capital has no time limit — and our agenda is clear: realising the next growth leap together with the existing owners.
Entrepreneurial sparring
We work as equal partners, alongside owners rather than over them — a sparring partner for strategic questions, not a controlling authority.
Strategic & operational expertise
Sales, internationalisation and digital processes — areas we know from our own operating experience and help tackle hands-on.
Our history
Growing since 2003
18 → 50+
Employees, 2003 → today
6
Businesses acquired or founded
2003
Polygon Chemie, Switzerland
2010
Surchem founded, Poland
2011
IQChem, Switzerland — integrated into Polygon
2014
Otto Brandes, Germany
2015
Neochem, Germany — integrated into Polygon
2022
Thomas Bonaud, Switzerland
Our businesses
Four businesses, one standard
Polygon was founded in 1980 and is a distributor of raw materials for specialty chemicals. Polygon serves three industries: cleaning agents, paints & coatings, and cosmetics. Most of its customers are in Germany, while the company is also active — directly or through partners — in countries beyond the DACH region.
Polygon was fully acquired by Alfred Betschart in 2003, who led it operationally until Omar Sabinot joined as managing director in 2012.
In 2011, IQChem AG in Basel, Switzerland, was acquired to complement the existing business. The company has been fully integrated into Polygon Chemie AG since 2024. IQChem focused on trading pigments for the paints & coatings industry and continues to appear across Europe as Polygon's brand for pigment products.
In 2015, Neochem was fully acquired as part of a restructuring, complementing Polygon's existing business with a focus on cosmetics. In 2020, Neochem's business was fully absorbed by Polygon.
Surchem was founded in 2010 jointly by a local management team and Alantana. Surchem is a distributor of chemical raw materials for cosmetics and industrial applications in Poland.
The company operates from two locations: Łódź (headquarters and warehouse) and Poznań (sales).
Otto Brandes trades pharmaceutical active ingredients ("APIs") with customers in Europe and overseas. Founded in 1923, the company has an extensive network of suppliers in China and India, making it an important link between Asian production markets and European sales markets. Otto Brandes acts independently and free of conflicts — with no fixed supplier representations.
Otto Brandes was fully acquired by Alantana in 2014 as part of a succession solution.
Thomas Bonaud was founded in 2017 and is a distributor of cosmetic products for professional and retail customers in Switzerland. The company holds a portfolio of renowned French and Italian cosmetics brands.
In 2022 Alantana acquired a participation in Thomas Bonaud SA to further drive the company's expansion.
Working together
Scenarios for a partnership
We come on board in different situations — always with the same goal: to make the business stronger for the long term.
01
Growth financing
Established businesses with clear potential that lack the capital, network or entrepreneurial guidance for their next step. We invest in expansion, new markets and structures — without the pressure of a short-term exit.
02
Succession
Owners who want to pass on their life's work to reliable hands. We take on responsibility, preserve the company's identity and secure continuity for employees, customers and suppliers.
03
New ventures
Where a market gap meets the right team, we build something new together. As with Surchem in 2010, we partner with local entrepreneurs and finance the build-up from the ground up.
Operational value creation
How we make businesses stronger
We bring more than capital — we bring operational substance, and we use AI deliberately.
Sales & markets
Growth, internationalisation and new sales channels. We open doors within our network and sharpen how markets are served.
Digital processes & AI
We use AI as a tool to ease workflows from sales and procurement to administration and to strengthen our people — not as an end in itself, but where it delivers measurable value.
Structure & leadership
Clear structures, strong teams and sound financial steering — the foundation on which a business can grow reliably.
Why us
Partners, not a fund
Permanent capital
No exit timetable like private-equity funds. The focus is on sustainable growth over years and decades.
Flexibility
Together with our partner companies we develop an individual ownership structure that fully fits the personal situation of owners and management as well as the situation of the business.
Short decision paths
Direct access to the owner — no committees, no investment committee.
Partnership at eye level
We respect the DNA of the business and adapt to its culture and its people.
Our values
What we stand for
Long-term focus
Everything we do has a long-term focus: consistent, sustainable decisions that weigh economic, social and ecological aspects.
Commitment to improve
We continuously develop ourselves and our businesses: prioritising, working efficiently, taking calculated risks.
Care and dare
Our people are our greatest asset. We listen and support — and at the same time challenge everyone to reach their full potential.
About
Owner-led, in its second generation
Alantana is an owner-led investment group headed by Andreas Betschart. He took over Alantana in 2022 from his father Alfred Betschart, who laid the foundation for the group with the acquisition of Polygon Chemie AG in 2003.
Andreas Betschart joined Alantana in 2018. Before that he worked in private equity, investing across Europe in mid-sized companies in a wide range of industries. Earlier, he gained experience in consulting (Capgemini, Deutsche Bank Inhouse), M&A (J.P. Morgan) and industry (Sulzer, Rolls-Royce). Andreas holds a Master in Banking & Finance and the CEMS Master in International Management, having studied in St. Gallen and Stockholm.
In 2022 he acquired a participation in Thomas Bonaud SA, extending the portfolio from raw-material to finished-goods distribution. Andreas is married and has two children. In his free time he is passionate about sport (cycling, mountain and winter sports), psychology and AI.
Contact
Get in touch
Get in touch — we are always open to a no-obligation first conversation.