RM Equity Partners Splits From Russmedia With Half a Billion Euros AUM

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What began as the investment arm of a regional newspaper house in western Austria is now an independent digital investor with more than 500 million euros in assets. RM Equity Partners (RMEP), based in Ruggell, Liechtenstein, is now fully owned by its three partners, Eugen B. Russ, Chris Wittlinger and Nicola Szekely, together with the wider team. As the firm said in an announcement, it no longer has any ownership, management or personnel ties to the Russmedia group. The move also completes the succession within the founding family: the media business stays with the family, while RMEP goes its own way. All new investments will be made independently by the team.

From Media House to Private Equity Investor

Russmedia is best known as the publisher of Vorarlberger Nachrichten, the leading daily in Austria’s westernmost state, and is owned by the Russ publishing family. Alongside its newspaper business, the group built up a digital investment business early on through companies in Liechtenstein. The online rental marketplace Erento joined the group as early as 2009, followed in 2015 by the ski rental platform Alpy (ALPINRESORTS.com), which RMEP now describes as its very first investment. RMEP was set up as a separate company in 2017, originally under the name Russmedia Equity Partners.

In the years that followed, RMEP made headlines with several deals. In 2019, the group company Russmedia International took a majority stake in the Vienna-based job board software provider Jobiqo. In 2021, RMEP made a move for the flea market app Shpock, which Adevinta had to sell under pressure from competition authorities. Russmedia was also an investor in the Vienna sports booking platform Eversports until the growth investor Verdane took a majority stake.

“We are deeply grateful for the trust and support that got us started,” said Eugen B. Russ, managing partner. As a fully independent firm, he added, the focus is now entirely on the future. The name RM Equity Partners stays, as does the claim “Results Matter,” and the firm is adding a new visual identity and a new website.

How Much RMEP Invests

The key figures show how large the investor has become:

• Assets under management: more than 500 million euros
• Investment capacity: more than 100 million euros a year
• Ticket size: up to 150 million euros in equity paid in cash at closing, up to 250 million euros per transaction
• Portfolio: more than 50 holdings with over 600 employees, reaching more than 400 million users a year
• Regions: mainly Europe and beyond, with 95 percent of revenue generated outside Austria

Unlike traditional private equity funds, RMEP does not raise money from outside investors (limited partners). The partners invest their own capital through a so-called evergreen structure, so holdings can be kept for as long as it makes sense, with no pressure to sell after a few years. RMEP looks for majority stakes in profitable, asset-light digital businesses: online marketplaces, software and consumer apps. Target companies should have more than 5 million euros in EBITDA or more than 20 million euros in net revenue and be the market leader or a strong No. 2 in their niche. Beyond standard deals, RMEP also looks for opportunities outside regular sale processes, such as corporate carve-outs or special situations that institutional investors usually cannot access. The team itself is lean, with eleven people.

What’s in the Portfolio

On its website, RMEP lists three consumer apps among its key holdings:

• Pure: The Swiss dating app has been part of the group since 2022 and reached revenue of $100 million (about 85 million euros) in 2025, up 46 percent.
• Bergfex: RMEP has held a 60 percent majority stake in the Graz-based outdoor platform for ski resorts, weather, webcams and tours since 2020.
• calimoto: The motorcycle navigation app from Potsdam joined in 2022, when RMEP acquired 51 percent.

Other holdings include Jobiqo, which recently bought the German job board JOBS.DE, the software maker MAGIX, the connected-car platform Carista and the Swiss online retailer Digital Heaven, which RMEP acquired just recently.

At the same time, RMEP has been selling heavily of late. Early this year, the childcare software providers Little Bird and Instikom went to LEA Partners, Erento followed in the summer, and a few weeks ago Alpy was sold to the Spanish ski rental operator PNS after more than ten years. Back in 2024, RMEP had already exited Eversports and the Hungarian job board CV Online. In the race for digital companies in the DACH region, RMEP competes with buyers such as LEA Partners and Verdane, which also take majority stakes in software and platform companies, though with money from funds.