Sovereign technology. KRITIS, NIS-2, FDI.
In 2026, sovereignty is no longer a political phrase but an economic category with concrete regulatory consequences. Anyone investing in critical infrastructure, deep tech or defence in DACH operates in a field that differs structurally from classical mid-cap PE.
The regulatory frame is reshaping the asset class
Three legal acts are redefining the field. The EU NIS-2 Directive, transposed in Germany via NIS2UmsuCG, substantially extends the scope of essential and important entities. Energy suppliers above a certain size, digital services, wastewater, food logistics. From 2024 onward, each such entity is subject to extended notification, risk-management and management-liability obligations. For the acquirer this means: NIS-2 is not a compliance topic of the target. NIS-2 is a condition of acquisition capability and a component of the investment thesis.
The EU AI Act, fully applicable from August 2026, defines requirements for high-risk AI systems on data quality, documentation, human oversight and robustness. Anyone investing in an AI company whose output falls under Annex III of the AI Act takes on a regulatory burden that is not reflected in classical software valuations. In parallel, the CRA (Cyber Resilience Act) has consequences from 2027 for every hardware and software product that communicates over the internet.
The third bracket is FDI screening. The German AußWG, the Austrian Investment Control Act and the Swiss Investment Screening Act require ex-ante approval for acquisitions in critical sectors above certain voting-rights thresholds. The threshold in Germany is ten percent for particularly sensitive areas and twenty percent for the remaining critical sectors. A transaction that does not obtain clearance is provisionally invalid. That changes the auction dynamic and the structuring of every transaction with foreign investor participation.
Why sovereignty becomes a yield source
The simplified thesis of the past twenty years held that global supply chains and market-integrated specialisation minimise costs. That thesis is no longer operational since the pandemic, the Russian attack on Ukraine, and the US tariff rounds of 2024 to 2026. The EU has responded with the Critical Raw Materials Act, the Net Zero Industry Act, the Chips Act and a wide range of member-state subsidy lines. The German federal government has, in its Bundeswehr special fund and infrastructure special fund, mobilised resources whose disbursement over the coming years creates a distinct investment environment.
From this configuration a double effect arises. First, the margin structure in sovereignty-relevant industries shifts upward because substitutability has been politically constrained. Second, a valuation premium accrues to companies whose supply chain, ownership structure and location policy are EU-sovereignty-capable. An acquirer who can credibly demonstrate these properties wins a negotiating position that is independent of the multiple offered.
The consequence for our mandates
Tactical Management is not the first investor to use the term sovereignty. We are, however, one of few mid-cap investors in DACH whose structuring team under Dr. Tillmann Lauk routinely embeds the NIS-2, FDI and AI Act dimensions into the acquisition architecture, and whose operating team under Marcus Köhnlein supports compliance implementation in the portfolio company rather than outsourcing it to externals. This internal effort is the actual competitive factor.
We deliberately do not invest in every sovereignty-relevant business model. Pure subsidy bets whose unit economics do not work without subsidy do not belong in a permanent-capital mandate. We invest where the regulatory dimension narrows competition while operating cash flow holds up independently of the subsidy backdrop.
The thesis. Sovereignty-relevant asset classes are, in 2026, not a sub-segment but the main axis of mid-market value creation in DACH, and acquisition capability increasingly depends on structuring competence under NIS-2, the AI Act and FDI regimes.
Articles in this cluster
Member articles are currently available in German only.
Deep tech and sovereignty
Where European deep-tech companies are structurally undervalued and why sovereignty relevance protects the substitutability of the margin base.
Digital sovereignty · Cloud
Cloud Act, Schrems II and the question of which cloud architecture is genuinely viable for a DACH Mittelstand company in regulated sectors.
Energy grid, regulation and WACC
How the German Incentive Regulation Ordinance and BNetzA determinations define the equity return for distribution grids, and what that means for PE investors.
Investments in the defence industry
The Bundeswehr special fund changes the order base. What investors in German Mittelstand suppliers should pay attention to beyond procurement rhetoric.
Critical raw materials · Investments
Critical Raw Materials Act, strategic stockpiling and the valuation of processing capacity in Europe. A sober reading beyond the headlines.
NIS-2 compliance for investors
NIS-2 is not an IT topic. It is a management-liability topic and a component of every acquisition diligence in the affected sectors.
Private equity in critical infrastructure
Where permanent capital fits structurally better than closed-end funds. On regulated returns, concession contracts and political risk.
FDI screening in M&A transactions
AußWG, AußWV and practice. How transactions can be structured ex ante so that FDI risks do not become deal-breakers.
Related pillar pages
Pillar page curated by Dr. Raphael Nagel, founding partner. Tactical Management operates from Munich, Vienna and Baar (Zug).