Why Do Strategic Buyers Miss Obvious Deals? - Roland Dennert (Cipio Partners)

Roland Dennert argues that European tech could grow one hundred-fold over the next twenty years—but only if the continent's pension funds and insurers shift from allocating roughly one percent of their assets to technology up to ten percent, matching their US counterparts. The capital exists; the problem is where it's directed.

Dennert explains how Cipio Partners operates in the growth equity segment between venture capital and traditional private equity, targeting companies with proven products, validated go-to-market strategies, and fifty to one hundred percent annual growth. At this stage, the firm no longer faces product or market risk—the focus shifts to execution risk and valuation. He discusses why cultural due diligence on founder teams matters more than technical audits, noting that when investments fail catastrophically, it's almost always a people issue, not a product problem. The conversation also covers Cipio's expansion into Central and Eastern Europe, where ambitious, well-trained founders face less competition for capital, and why the emergence of private equity buyers over the past decade has been a game-changer for European tech exits, creating competitive processes where previously only one or two strategic buyers might have been interested.

**Key discussion points:**

💰 Why European pension funds allocating ten percent to tech instead of one percent could unlock ten times more capital 🎯 The difference between venture risk (product/market uncertainty) and growth risk (execution/valuation) 🤝 Why people issues—not product failures—cause most catastrophic investment losses at growth stage 🇪🇺 How the absence of a deep, liquid European public market for large tech companies limits exit options 🚀 What makes Central and Eastern Europe an underestimated source of ambitious, well-trained technical talent

Subscribe to Aulium for more conversations on innovation and private capital.

About Roland Dennert [General Partner of Cipio Parters]:General Partner at Cipio Partners, a European growth equity firm investing at the intersection of venture capital and traditional private equity. He has led the firm for over twenty-one years, completing more than fifty trade sales and four IPOs across a portfolio spanning fifteen countries. Prior to Cipio, he worked at 3i, earned an MBA from MIT Sloan, and held roles in strategy consulting at Roland Berger and BCG following his start as a robotics engineer at Hitachi in Japan.About Aulium:Aulium is a video show exploring Innovation and Private Capital, hosted by Thomas Viguier.Connect with us:➡ Aulium on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aulium➡ Thomas Viguier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tviguier/