Chinese Private Equity Firm HSG Emerges as Leading Bidder to Buy Stake in Leica Camera

In January, reports arose that Leica Camera AG’s owners were considering selling a controlling stake in the legendary German photography company. These talks have heated up in the months since.

Bloomberg reports, as spotted by Leica Rumors, that HongShan Capital Group (HSG) has emerged as a leading bidder to purchase Blackstone Inc.’s massive 45% stake in Leica. HSG is a Chinese-based venture capital and private equity firm, formerly the Chinese investment segment of Sequoia Capital. As of 2024, HSG managed around $56 billion in assets.

Bloomberg describes HSG as a “leading bidder” for Blackstone’s large minority stake in Leica Camera AG. However, Bloomberg notes that HSG is also in play to purchase Austrian billionaire Andreas Kaufmann’s 55% stake in Leica, if Kaufmann elects to sell. Bloomberg‘s anonymous sources believe this is a realistic possibility.

Leica is riding high, coming off its fourth straight year of setting new revenue records. Leica’s valuation could be around €1 billion, or about $1.165 billion at current exchange rates.

Andreas Kaufmann purchased about 95% of Leica for about $85 million in 2004 and sold a roughly 45% minority stake to Blackstone in 2011 for a reported $179 million. At that time, this put Leica’s valuation at around $407 million, then a 450% growth in less than a decade. Leica went fully private in 2012.

Bloomberg‘s sources emphasize that there is no guarantee of a deal, and HSG and Blackstone have expectedly refused to comment.

Back in January, Bloomberg noted the possibility that even if Kaufmann does sell his majority stake in Leica, he may then reinvest in the company to maintain influence and significant control. Kaufmann is a very active part of Leica Camera AG and, by all accounts, personally invested in the brand’s success and legacy. Further, his wife, Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, is the longtime Art Director and Chief Representative of Leica Galleries International.

“The Kafumann family is not merely part of Leica’s ownership group; they have been integral to Leica’s business and cultural endeavors for over two decades,” PetaPixel wrote in January.

If Leica sells, either in a minority or majority stake, to a Chinese private equity firm, it would be far from the first European brand to do so in recent years.

Further, although not a private equity sale, it is easy to see potential parallels between Leica and Hasselblad. Swedish Hasselblad, another premium photography brand with a very rich history, was acquired by Chinese technology and imaging company DJI in 2017.

Image credits: Leica, HSG