News
The uvex group announces majority investment by Warburg Pincus Jul 1, 2025
Owner families Winter and Grau to retain significant minority stake
Fürth and Berlin, July 1, 2025 – The UVEX WINTER HOLDING GmbH & Co. KG (uvex group), a leading family-owned provider of personal protective and sports protective equipment, announced today that Warburg Pincus, the pioneer of private equity global growth investing, will acquire a majority interest in the company. The owner families Winter and Grau will retain a significant minority stake and will be actively involved in the future growth of the business.
Founded in 1926 by Philipp M. Winter, who manufactured protective eyewear in his “Optische Industrie-Anstalt”, uvex group has evolved into a global leader in protective safety and sports equipment. With the “protecting people” philosophy as both a mission and responsibility, uvex group develops, manufactures and distributes products and services for the safety and protection of people at work, in sport and for leisure pursuits.
The company differentiates itself from its peers through its high-quality products and by ensuring its products are characterized by technological innovation, comfort of wear and unmistakable design. By partnering with Warburg Pincus, uvex group will continue to accelerate growth globally, expanding its international presence, refining its premium product offering and growing in new segments. The company will also drive growth through M&A, building on successful transactions to date.
Michael Winter, Managing Partner and CEO of uvex group, commented: “The brand promise ‘protecting people’ has guided us for 100 years. As a fourth-generation family-owned company, we are committed to shaping the next phase of our corporate development with a strong growth partner. Our goal is to further increase the resilience of the uvex group in the future and remain the first choice for our customers. We are confident that we have found such a partner in Warburg Pincus and look forward to a successful collaboration.”
Tobias Weidner, Managing Director at Warburg Pincus, commented: “Congratulations to the Winter and Grau families for building and leading uvex group over the last 100 years into the strong business and brand it is today. We are excited to partner with them to continue that journey together. We share the uvex group team’s vision to become the global market leader in protecting people through protective equipment. Together with the family and the management team we are looking forward to bringing uvex group’s premium products to more people around the world.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Media contacts:
uvex group
Dagmar Hugenroth
+49 151 1084 8855
presse@uvex.de
Regina Frauen
+49 160 8855 105
uvex@fgsglobal.com
Warburg Pincus
Alice Gibb
+44 7827 3093 20
alice.gibb@warburgpincus.com
Katharina Gebsattel
+49 172 718 68 57
katharina.gebsattel@warburgpincus.com
About uvex group
The uvex group brings together four companies under one roof: the uvex safety group (uvex safety, HexArmor, laservision and Heckel), the uvex sports group (uvex sports, ALPINA and Hiplok), the Filtral group (Filtral and Primetta) and the UD2C Group for the direct-to-consumer online business. The uvex group is represented by 49 branch offices in 23 countries and produces in its own factories. In total, 60% of the company’s workforce of more than 3,000 staff (as at: 2023/24 financial year) are employed in Germany. uvex is a global partner to international elite sport and equips a host of top athletes. The “protecting people” philosophy is both a mission and responsibility. To this end, the uvex group develops, manufactures and distributes products and services for the safety and protection of people at work, in sport and for leisure pursuits. For more information, please visit www.uvex-group.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is the pioneer of private equity global growth investing. A private partnership since 1966, the firm has the flexibility and experience to focus on helping investors and management teams achieve enduring success across market cycles. Today, the firm has more than $87 billion in assets under management, and more than 220 companies in their active portfolio, diversified across stages, sectors, and geographies. Warburg Pincus has invested in more than 1,000 companies across its private equity, real estate, and capital solutions strategies.
The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com or follow us on LinkedIn.