AUTODOC and Apollo Funds successfully conclude transformative partnership

AUTODOC and Apollo Funds successfully conclude transformative partnership

Historic milestone of founders returning to full ownership concludes highly successful collaboration 

• Partnership with Apollo delivered significant progress on governance, reporting and operational scalability
• The three founders Alexej Erdle, Max Wegner and Vitalij Kungel now indirectly hold 100% of Autodoc SE again
• AUTODOC enters its next chapter as a leaner, more focused company — fully prepared for future capital markets

Berlin, 19 August 2026 – Autodoc SE, Europe's leading online retailer of automotive spare parts and accessories, today announced the successful completion of the share purchase from Apollo’s managed funds associated with its Hybrid Value franchise (the “Apollo Funds”) which have led a minority investment alongside leading institutional investors. With this transaction closed, the three co-founders of AUTODOC — Alexej Erdle, Max Wegner and Vitalij Kungel — again indirectly hold 100% of Autodoc SE through their investment vehicle, AutoTech GmbH & Co. KG.

This share purchase, which was funded by the placement of a Term Loan B of €530 million as announced in July 2026, marks the conclusion of a successful partnership. In April 2024, Apollo Funds acquired a minority stake in AUTODOC at an equity valuation of €2.3 billion, marking the first time the company was co-owned by somebody else than the founders.  The collaboration was designed from the beginning to be time-limited and purpose-driven: As an institutional partner, Apollo provided strategic guidance to help set AUTODOC on a successful path to access institutional capital markets and prepare for a potential future IPO. These objectives were jointly achieved in quick succession, leaving AUTODOC well positioned for any future capital market options. With the transaction completed, the two Apollo representatives on AUTODOC's Supervisory Board will step down accordingly, departing with the company’s sincere gratitude for their invaluable counsel. From now on, the Supervisory Board will consist of the three founders and three independent members.

Strategic partnership made AUTODOC ready for debt and equity capital markets

"We have grown AUTODOC from a bootstrapped start-up into Europe’s leading automotive parts retailer by making car repair accessible to everyone. Regaining full ownership is a proud and deeply meaningful moment for us — one that reaffirms our long-term commitment to the company’s future“, said the founders, Alexej Erdle, Max Wegner and Vitalij Kungel, in a joint statement. „We are sincerely grateful to the Apollo team for their trust, invaluable expertise and close partnership over the past two years. Their support has been instrumental in our development, leaving AUTODOC stronger, more robust and well-positioned for the years ahead."

"Apollo's contribution went well beyond capital. Together, we have significantly sharpened our internal processes, strengthened our corporate governance and built a stronger, more scalable platform", said Dmitri Zadorojnii, CEO of AUTODOC. “I would like to express my sincere thanks to the entire Apollo team for their dedication and professional counsel. We now move forward as a highly focused market leader, fully prepared to leverage our independent position and deliver exceptional value to our B2C and B2B customers across Europe. AUTODOC doesn’t change its strategic direction and is ready to capture multiple market opportunities that we clearly see in front of us. We will fully rely on our digital nature and will continue to adopt and apply the power of AI and many other forefront technologies to bring our products and customers’ experience to the edge of excellence."

"Apollo brought world-class capital markets expertise to AUTODOC at a crucial time", said Lennart Schmidt, CFO of AUTODOC. “Transforming our financial reporting, professionalising our processes, building capital market readiness and debuting on the institutional credit markets have facilitated a seamless transition to our new capital structure. It was a pleasure working with the Apollo team and getting their strategic guidance. AUTODOC tapping the institutional debt markets for the first time marks another important step in further professionalising the company and making us ready for future endeavours, including a potential IPO when the timing is right."

"It has been a privilege to partner with AUTODOC's founders and management team during this transformative period“, said Jeremy Honeth, Partner, Hybrid Value at Apollo. “AUTODOC has cemented its position as Europe’s leading digital platform for automotive parts and has demonstrated clear readiness for the capital markets. We are proud to have supported the company in reaching this point and wish the entire team every success as they enter their next chapter of growth."

Looking ahead

AUTODOC remains dedicated to its long-term ambition of becoming Europe's leading technology ecosystem for the automotive aftermarket — combining AI-driven capabilities, data-informed decision-making and an enhanced digital experience for both consumers and professional partners. A future IPO remains on the company's agenda, subject to general market conditions.
 

About AUTODOC

AUTODOC is the leading digital pure-play automotive parts platform in Europe. The business, which was founded in Berlin in 2008 by Alexej Erdle, Max Wegner and Vitalij Kungel, has developed into one of the most exciting E-Commerce companies in Europe in a remarkably short period. Since November 2022, the Company has been operating as the European corporation Autodoc SE. The Management Board consists of Dmitri Zadorojnii (CEO) and Lennart Schmidt (CFO). As of 31 December 2025, AUTODOC’s product assortment comprised around 7.8 million SKUs from around 2,700 brand manufacturers - including car, truck and motorcycle parts, tires as well as adjacent products such as tools, accessories, oils, liquids and consumables - and has significantly increased over time. In 2025, AUTODOC generated sales revenue of €1.8 billion (2024: €1.6 billion). AUTODOC has online shops in 27 European countries and employs more than 5,500 people in 13 locations: Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
 

About Apollo

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of June 30, 2026, Apollo had approximately $1.05 trillion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

 

Press contact

Stefanie Steiner

Director Investor Relations

Mobile: +49 151 5562 1476

Email: s.steiner@autodoc.eu

www.autodoc.group

Marco Dalan

newskontor - Agentur für Kommunikation

Tel: +49 211 86394933

Mobile: +49 171 7614905

Email: marco.dalan@newskontor.de