A home base for mission-criticalsoftware companiesthat drive our society forward
Nordic clarity. Hanseatic fairness. Digitally on course.
WHAT WATERKANT STANDS FOR
We think in decades
We agree on the philosophy: building something valuable over the long term, together with people we value and respect, is fulfilling and a great joy. So why would we ever sell companies again?
Decentralised structures
We value the individual expertise and culture of every company. That is why we merge businesses only in exceptional cases – when it makes strategic sense and is wanted by management, employees and customers alike.
A place where talent thrives
We want to shape the future together with the leadership teams. We learn from one another and actively support managers and entrepreneurs in developing their potential and growing within the group.
Tools for company development
We give you access to our tried and tested experience and methods for successfully developing vertical software companies. In the fields of AI, cybersecurity and talent development in particular, our experts can give your company hands-on support.
Fair price and efficient process
We are not bargain hunters. We offer you a fair price for your company. As experienced buyers of vertical software companies, we run a swift, pragmatic process.
A strong team
We are team players and treat one another openly & with appreciation. Together we want to achieve something we can be proud of – and celebrate it properly.
What we are looking for
Vertical/niche software
Your company has its own software that specializes in a particular industry or customer group, which helps our company move forward.
Company Size & Headquarters
Your company has annual revenue of between EUR 2 and 30 million and is headquartered in Europe.
Recurring revenue
At least 40% of revenue is recurring (maintenance/support/rental/SaaS).
OUR WATERKANT TEAM
Jan Regenbogen
Founder & Managing Partner
Jan was born on the North Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein and now lives in Hamburg. After studying business administration, management and law in Lüneburg, Bristol, Hamburg and Berkeley, he worked in M&A and corporate development at Total Specific Solutions (TSS), a long-term investment company for vertical software businesses based in Utrecht in the Netherlands. In his private life Jan is a passionate pilot, hunter and tennis player.
Jens Buchloh
Founder & Managing Partner
Jens lives on the Baltic coast and has gathered wide-ranging experience over the past 23 years as a software entrepreneur and as portfolio manager of a group of companies. He knows how to combine a marked increase in profitability with a positive team culture in vertical software businesses. A passionate stand-up paddler and recreational boater, Jens is often out on the Kiel Fjord.
Lukas Pahl
Head of M&A and Value Creation
Lukas comes from Lower Saxony and lives in Hamburg today. After study periods in Lüneburg, Istanbul and Lisbon, he began his career at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he supported companies through M&A and transformation processes. He then advised investment companies on transactions and strategic questions in the software sector. In his free time Lukas is always on the move, whether running, on his bike or on the padel court.
Majority shareholder
CHAPTERS Group, headquartered in Hamburg and operating globally, is the majority shareholder of Waterkant Software with 80%. CHAPTERS is already home to more than 50 vertical software companies in Europe.
How it all began
The foundation of CHAPTERS GROUP was laid in 1998 with the founding of a small software start-up near Frankfurt. With its vision of improving procurement processes in German hospitals, the company (then trading as „Medical Columbus“) grew into one of the leading providers in that market. In the course of market consolidation, the core business was sold to a strategic buyer exactly 20 years later. That sale in 2018 opened a new chapter: reinvesting the proceeds set in motion the transformation of the company into the holding company it is today. Through our investment platforms, the group now comprises more than 50 operating companies, united by the same vision: providing „mission critical“ digital products and services to customers; not only in Germany, but across the whole of Europe (and in some cases worldwide). Over the years we have earned the trust and support of high-calibre, long-term-oriented investors. They back our vision and reliably provide the capital we need to grow. Finding and seizing new opportunities is part of our DNA. We strive to achieve long-term success over decades, not only for our investors but for all of our stakeholders, and there are many more chapters still to open along the way.
How CHAPTERS supports us
Through CHAPTERS we have access to experienced experts in AI, cybersecurity and HR who give our companies hands-on support.
Tobias Pook helps with all AI topics, such as introducing agentic coding, weekly four-hour co-developing sessions on AI use cases and providing the CHAPTERS AI Hub. Kai Gansert is an expert on all cyber security questions and supports ISO 27001 certifications, among other things. Jonas Marggraf helps to draw up individual development plans, measures and goals in order to nurture and challenge the talent in our companies over the long term.
Tobias Pook
CTO
Tobias joined CHAPTERS Group as CTO in October 2025. A physicist with a doctorate from RWTH Aachen and seven years of research at CERN, he brings hands-on experience from building and combining technology companies as CTO of the POD One Group, paired with a strong focus on AI-driven transformation, data-driven management and technological due diligence.
Kai Gansert
CISO
“Real security does not come from compliance. It arises where leadership, culture and technology work hand in hand. At CHAPTERS we shape that interplay with pragmatic best practices and use our cyber security community to arm ourselves together against a wide range of threats. We see security as a fundamental competitive advantage – because our customers need secure products and resilient partners.
As Group CISO, I support our companies in travelling the sometimes rocky road of cyber security.”
Jonas Marggraf
Chief People Officer
Jonas is Chief People Officer of CHAPTERS Group. His core focus: bringing people, business and organisational identity into alignment, because it is the human factor that sustainably creates value in modern organisations.
He brings two decades of experience at the intersection of organisational, strategic and people development, complemented by a systemic coaching practice. As Managing Director of Fintiba he scaled the company from a start-up into an international group, building agile structures and the entire people architecture along the way. At CHAPTERS he works on aligning strategy, organisational identity and the development of leaders and teams, as the foundation for sustainable performance.
A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS WITH AN EMAIL OR A PHONE CALL