Common questions

Private equity firms typically acquire businesses with the intention of selling them within three to seven years. Saha does not invest in order to resell. We enable the right successor to take over your company, invest alongside them, and remain a long-term co-owner. There is no exit timeline and no pressure to restructure for a sale.

The person best able to lead it. Often this is a manager who already knows the business, or a family member prepared to take on the role. Where no one is in place, we can help identify and prepare a carefully selected outside leader, who will always work alongside you for a period before assuming responsibility.

You receive the majority of the price in cash at closing. A smaller portion remains in the company as a seller loan, repaid with interest on a fixed schedule. We explain the full structure openly in our initial conversations.

We agree the price at the outset, based on the results your company has already achieved, and before any preparatory work begins. The price must also be one the company can comfortably sustain, so that neither your successor nor your team is placed at risk after you step back.

Preserving the team you have built is central to our approach. We do not invest in companies in order to restructure them. Your successor typically comes from, or knows, the team, and decisions affecting people are made for the long-term health of the business, with transparency.

That depends on where you are in your thinking. Succession is often a reflection of several years, and that is entirely natural. Once the essentials are agreed, a period of exclusivity follows, typically twelve to twenty-four months, during which we prepare the handover and the financing together. Many owners find it valuable to begin the conversation early.

Yes. We preserve the identity, brand, and local presence of each company we invest in. Your company continues to operate under its own name, in its own market, with its own team.

That is for you and your successor to decide. Some owners prefer a clean handover, while others remain involved in an advisory or part-time capacity for a period. Where the successor comes from outside, a period of working together before closing is part of every plan.

We focus on established, profitable Swiss companies with approximately 10 to 100 employees. The decisive factors are stable profits, steady demand, a capable successor, and the company's ability to carry its financing comfortably.

This is precisely the situation for which Saha is designed. If you are able to lead the company but cannot finance the acquisition alone, Saha provides the financing and the structure, and invests alongside you. The owner must, of course, be willing, and the company must be able to carry its financing.

A meaningful personal contribution, but only a fraction of the company's value. Depending on your investment, you hold between 20% and 80% of the equity, with a Swiss bank and long-term investors financing the greater part of the price. The specific amounts are discussed once we know the company.

Yes. You may hold a majority from the outset if your investment allows, or build towards one over time. Once the company has repaid its loans, you may progressively acquire Saha's shares from the company's profits. Saha retains a lasting stake of at least 20%.

Yes. Family succession is an integral part of our model. What matters is that the successor is capable of leading the company and that the plan is one the company can sustain. We are often of particular help where a family succession is the right answer but the financing between family members is difficult to arrange.

Yes, through our Future CEO track. Candidates work alongside the Saha team, are matched with a specific company, and come to know it alongside its owner before assuming responsibility. We look for people who have already led a business or a significant unit, think as owners, and are prepared for a long horizon.

In two ways. At the level of each company, through junior capital that ranks behind the bank, provides a regular cash return and is repaid within a defined horizon. And in Saha itself, which holds stakes in every company it backs. We share full documentation in private conversations.

The initial transactions are suited to family offices and private investors familiar with the Swiss SME landscape. As the track record develops, we intend to establish a pooled vehicle in which institutions can invest.

Every company stands on its own, and there is no debt above the companies, so a difficulty in one business remains contained within it. Each transaction is tested against several difficult years before a price is agreed. After closing, monthly reporting, cash forecasts and early warnings are shared with the bank and investors.

Through its role in each transaction, its participation in profits once a company has repaid its loans, and the capital returned as successors progressively acquire a larger share of their company. Saha retains a lasting stake in every company, and therefore does not depend on a single exit event.

AI is integral to the model. Before closing, it supports the readiness assessment, knowledge capture, due diligence and the financing file, making careful work economical for smaller companies. After closing, it underpins finance and reporting and highlights issues early, allowing a small central team to support many companies. The platform is built in-house, under the leadership of Stefan Vaninetti.

Saha is pre-close. The founding team is in place, the financing structure is being finalised with a Swiss bank, and the first conversations with owners are underway. We are building for the first successions, not for mass deployment.

Profitable, established companies with approximately 10 to 100 employees, where succession is the reason for the transfer, and ideally where a capable successor is already in view. Where you are uncertain, we are glad to provide a candid assessment promptly.

That is our preference. Where your client has a manager or family member able to lead the company, Saha can provide that person with a route to ownership. Our role is to bring the financing, the structure and the support around them.

Saha is a word rooted in patience, endurance, and the capacity to bear with care. It reflects the long-term mindset at the heart of everything we do: enabling good businesses to pass to the right people, not for a cycle, but for a generation.

Saha is a company with permanent capital. Unlike a fund, it has no predetermined exit timeline. We co-own each company with its successor and retain a lasting stake, which aligns our interests with the long-term health of every business we back.

Saha is based in Switzerland. Our team works across the country, close to the companies and people we support.

We welcome conversations with owners, successors, investors, and advisors. You can reach us through our contact page or by emailing hello@sahaholding.ch. Every enquiry is treated with confidentiality and respect.