H.I.G. Capital Buys Majority Stake in Germany's go asia Chain

H.I.G. Capital has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in go asia, Germany's largest Asian food retail chain, with the founding Ye family reinvesting and retaining a significant ownership position.

The deal hands a Berlin-born retailer an institutional backer with $76 billion in managed capital. It also gives H.I.G. a controlling position in a chain that has grown on German demand for authentic Asian ingredients. The transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals, and the announcement gave no expected closing date.

What is go asia?

Wengui Ye founded the business in Berlin in 2008 and opened his first store there in 2009. Today go asia operates more than 70 stores in over 30 German cities and employs more than 1,600 people.

The product range spans more than 10,000 items from across Asia:

• Rice, noodles and sauces
• Spices, frozen and fresh foods
• Beverages and kitchenware

The chain generally locates its stores in city centers, shopping centers and transportation hubs, supported by an online store. That high-traffic footprint and its sourcing capabilities form the base for opening additional stores, according to the announcement.

What does H.I.G. bring to the table?

H.I.G. plans to provide capital resources, retail and consumer expertise, and access to its international network. The partnership will focus on two moves: expanding go asia's store network across Germany and entering additional European markets.

Ye and the existing management team will continue to participate actively in the company's development. That continuity matters for a founder-led business testing its store concept beyond its domestic market for the first time.

H.I.G., founded in 1993, has invested in more than 400 companies. Its current portfolio holds more than 100 companies with combined annual sales exceeding $53 billion. The firm invests across private equity, credit, real estate and infrastructure strategies.

What did the two sides say?

Founder Wengui Ye framed the deal as the next stage of a vision that started with one Berlin store:

"When I opened our first store in Berlin in 2009, my vision was to bring authentic Asian cuisine to German homes. Today, I am proud that go asia is Germany's largest Asian food retailer – and we still see significant untapped growth potential both in Germany and especially across Europe. With its vast retail experience, strong international network, and partnership-oriented, operational approach, H.I.G. is the ideal partner for our next stage of growth. My family and I will remain significantly invested, and I look forward to continuing to shape the future of go asia together with H.I.G. and our outstanding team."

Christian Kraul-von Renner, Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital, called the business a founder-led success story and pointed to the expansion logic behind the deal:

"Wengui Ye and his team have built Germany's largest Asian food retailer with an authentic product range and a distinctive, scalable store concept. We see significant potential to expand the store network in Germany as well as to enter other European markets. Together with the Ye family and the management team, we look forward to accelerating go asia's next phase of growth."

Why does this deal matter now?

German consumer demand for authentic Asian ingredients and cuisine has driven go asia's expansion so far, and that demand underpins the case for more stores. The company has never tested its concept outside Germany at scale.

The structure — majority control for H.I.G., significant retained ownership for the Ye family, and management continuity — mirrors a familiar private equity playbook for retail rollouts: keep the operators, add the capital. If the concept transfers across borders, go asia becomes a platform for pan-Asian food retail in Europe rather than a single-market champion.

For now, the timeline depends on regulators. Once approvals land, expect the first signal of intent: the pace of new store openings in Germany and the choice of the first European market to enter.