Why should you choose us for your company succession (M&A)? Because of the core behind CORE.
Achieve the best results in company sales (M&A), company acquisitions and generation changes with KERN ? your independent consulting group in Germany, Austria, Poland and Switzerland. Repeatedly awarded by the renowned Wirtschaftswoche, as Top-Consultants and with the German-Brand-Award as well as Innovator 2021.
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Experience from more than 2,000 follow-up projects
KERN accompanied the process from the preparation of the sale, the search for the purchase candidates to the sales negotiations.
»The project included the valuation of the company, finding potential buyers, accompanying and moderating the negotiations and implementing the agreements in a legally compliant manner.
»The entire transaction was successfully accompanied and implemented by KERN. Hurdles were cleared out of the way and the business remains in operation with all employees.
»Known from numerous publications
The unique M&A success guarantee for your company sale without risk
The sale of your business is of utmost importance to you. With which advisor are you in the best hands? With the unique KERN M&A SUCCESS GUARANTEE you get your money back if a sale is not successful.
Secure the sale of your life’s work at 100%.
We make your business succession more successful
Company sale
Learn everything you need to know about selling your life’s work. In the video “Selling a company in 10 steps” you will learn about the proven KERN M&A process. Also in the video, you will learn how the founders of Acousticpearls fulfilled their dream by selling their company.
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Generation change
Succession within the family needs solutions that also take the emotional side into account. In the video with Nils Koerber, discover the holistic KERN family process for generational change. Get your free copy of the expert guide as a PDF download.
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Company acquisition
Buying a company is a big decision. Here you can find out why this path is easier, more lucrative and more exciting than setting up your own business. Discover how the KERN network can help you with your successful business purchase. Start right away by setting up your free search profile.
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Frequently asked questions about business succession
Company succession is an inevitable process in the business world. By this we mean that a company is passed on to a successor. This is not a case of a new start-up, but rather of the Transfer of an already existing company or sole proprietorship. This process of handing over, selling, donating or buying a company can take a long time and is subject to a wide variety of special features in almost every individual case.
There are various occasions for a business succession: Mostly, this takes place when the current owner of the business wants to sell it. For whatever reason. The company can then be acquired and taken over by potential successors/investors.
A good 40 % businesses are passed on within a family. Then a family-internal business takeover takes place. However, this does not make the process any less extensive and often even more emotional due to the personal bond between the transferor and the transferee.
Company succession, in the context of a generational change, can take the form of a gift, inheritance or sale to the succeeding generation.
Taking advantage of expert advice in the context of a business succession is not just an idea, but strongly recommended. Hardly any transferor has implemented such a complex process more often in his life and thus knows all the important contents. Business succession consultants are responsible for the planning and implementation of this matter. This includes many different aspects with tax, legal, economic and emotional backgrounds, which we present to you in more detail below.
Business valuation
The first step is often to determine the value of the business. A fair market Business valuation is an important step in succession planning, as it determines the market value of the company. This value is used to determine the possible purchase price that could currently be realistic for the respective business model and industry.
However, the first step can also take place much earlier, namely as part of a pre-examination of the put option. At KERN we call this the Fitness check for the company succession. With enough time, important decisions can be made or the possible sales price can be made more attractive in the future with intelligent value enhancement systems.
Information Memorandum (also called Exposé)
A business succession advisor provides significant support in the preparation of a comprehensive information memorandum. This document gives potential successors an overview of the company, its finances, strengths and weaknesses, as well as the perspective after a Company sale.
Of course, a Information Memorandum only issued in return for a confidentiality agreement and each interested party is checked in detail in advance for sustainability as an interested party in a business succession.
Finding a buyer
Business succession advisors (by this we do not mean advisors who implement M&A and business succession ’sometimes’ and ‘also’, but who have a 24/7 focus on this particular service) can help you, find the right and best buyer and negotiate an optimal price with resilient framework conditions.
M&A databases are of great importance in this respect. KERN alone, for example, as one of the largest advisory groups for business succession, has more than 300,000 investor and buyer profiles on an ongoing basis. We therefore know exactly who, when, where and how they want to invest. Likewise, national and international networks to banks, savings banks, lawyers and tax advisors are the decisive criterion for an anonymous, discreet and at the same time successful search for buyers. If several buyers can be identified at the same time as interested parties to take over in the business succession, this is a great advantage for the seller of a business. And the price will also be more stable or even higher as a result.
Posting on a succession exchange (company exchange)
Another way to find the suitable successor is to post your business on a succession exchange. In this way, prospective buyers will become aware of your business. Important! All advertisements must be anonymous and we at KERN provide a reliable “security buffer” to ensure that no market participant or employee finds out about your project.
Negotiation with prospective buyers
The advisor supports you in the negotiations with the potential successors. With the necessary know-how, the consultants knowWe know what is important in this process and sound out very precisely in advance which interested party could really be relevant for the company succession. To be on the safe side, we always ask our clients whether this particular buyer would actually be desired before we inspect an information memorandum. Only then do we sign the confidentiality agreement (NDA) and send it out. Or even the friendly refusal. Advantage: The seller always remains securely in an anonymous position with his business succession project until then.
Letter of Intent
The writing of a Letter of Intent (letter of intent prior to a company sale) is an important step in the area of company succession. In this the Intentions of the buyer and the seller recorded. And it should be very detailed and specific. A good LoI prevents misunderstandings and prepares the subsequent purchase contract well in important questions. Whoever signs a comprehensive LoI also wants to achieve the goal in the majority of cases. This applies to both buyers and sellers in a business succession.
Company purchase agreement
Finally, the counsellor will support you in Company purchase agreement for your succession. Here the rule applies: He who writes, stays ? This means that even the draft is of great importance for the content and strategy in the process of company succession. Whether a specialised M&A lawyer prepares the draft or has to check a draft is rather negligible from the cost point of view. The transaction advisors make sure that the contents of a contract in business succession can do justice to both sides and misunderstandings can be ruled out through a mindful ?interpreter? activity. Emotions are often particularly tense shortly before the goal is reached and an experienced business succession advisor contributes to this with his experience.
Mediation
Conflicts can also arise in the context of a business succession. This more often concerns the generation change within the family. With the help of the “technique” of mediation (moderated discussion in concrete steps for the achievement of goals and the resolution of conflicts), experienced M&A advisors with mediation expertise will help you to resolve them.
Counselling is particularly relevant when the succession takes place within the family. This helps to look at things objectively and not let emotions decide the course of events. Especially when disputes arise, a counsellor can mediate them and objectively prescribe all aspects.
The phases of a business succession
Company succession through a company sale consists of various phases. At the beginning, all important dates the company, determine its value and develop strategies.. As soon as the concept is ready, anonymous contact with interested parties is initiated. If the negotiations with buyers are successful, the purchase contract is signed and the company is handed over.
The vast majority of all entrepreneurs only hand over their personally created life’s work once in the context of a company succession, whether through a sale or a generation change within the family. The complexity is extremely high in the context of the tax, economic, legal and emotional particularities. No two cases of business succession are the same. Experienced experts ‘earn’ more for their clients than the mistakes, legal and tax problems or emotional escalations might cost in case of doubt. The fee, often with success components, is thus cheaper than the disaster of a failed business succession. In the worst case, a life’s work is damaged or even destroyed through ignorance.
In order to select a suitable business succession (M&A) expert, you should be clear about the goals to be achieved in the business succession and the qualities of a companion needed to provide optimal support. Once you are clear about your needs, you can start to narrow down your options.
Always ask for concrete references and case studies. The focus on this demanding field of consultancy is crucial. Only those who have frequently advised on these complex processes of a company succession in depth and over many years should play a role for you in the circle of possible selection.
We also convince with a success guarantee and over 2,000 successful follow-up mandates. Therefore, we could be the right succession advisor for you.In fact, there are management consultancies that have specialised exclusively in supporting companies in succession planning and implementation. They have recognised the scope and importance of this topic and have made it their goal to support entrepreneurs in all questions.
As an entrepreneur, you are faced at some point with the challenge of having to or wanting to pass on your life’s work. Many different factors play a role, not least the emotional circumstances that can complicate this process. With the help of specialised succession advice, it may be easier.
KERN offers a special one-day seminar (digital or analogue) for the start-up phase, to help you find your own clarity as a future transferor.
Planning company succession
The process of business succession requires thorough planning. Without preparation, mistakes and losses are inevitable. A business succession cannot simply take place from one day to the next, but consists of different phases of business succession and requires extensive preparations.
Find company successors
If the succession is not to take place within the family, it is important to find a potential successor. A suitable option for this is, among other things, a company exchange. On such a portal you can anonymously offer your life’s work and thus attract potential buyers. Please note that you should choose an exchange very carefully, because there are only very few relevant portals for business succession.
Checklist for business succession
The concept of business succession also plays a role for someone who would like to buy a company. If you don’t necessarily want to start up, but still want to run a business, you can look for a suitable company on succession exchanges, for example. Buying within the framework of a company succession has clear advantages.
What are the advantages?
There are many different advantages to buying a company. You don’t have to start an elaborate procedure of a foundation, but take over an already existing company. One of the advantages is that you usually start with experienced employees, which are incorporated and are familiar with the acquired business model.
A successfully running business operation, regardless of the industry, provides income and an established foundation of security from day one. Now it is time to align the company for the future and to combine its own vision with the established business model.
Opportunities and risks
One of the opportunities in taking over a company is to have a already successful company to be able to expand and scale even further.
And at the same time, even an established company has to face challenges every day. Compared to a start-up, a company succession is of course not without risk, but in terms of time it is probably always more successful than a classic start-up. After all, a good 80 % of all completely new start-ups fail.
Funding
Financing a business succession is one of the biggest hurdles to a successful takeover. Can a buyer afford the possible volume of a purchase price? Where can I find the right financing partners? Which subsidies and public guarantees help to make the project a reality.
Questions and challenges, often up to the business plan, should also be prepared and implemented with experts.
Checklist for business buyers
When it is time to plan succession for your business, it is important to choose a management consultancy that suits you and your business. If the chemistry between you and the advisors is right and the professional know-how has been testednothing stands in the way of a successful company sale. An indispensable prerequisite for external advisors is a high level of competence in assisting with company successions.
Successor wanted: Find companies and purchase requests
The KERN Company Exchange is the meeting place for entrepreneurs, investors and those who would like to become one. It offers buyers the opportunity to get an overview of the companies for sale. For this purpose, we offer the free opportunity to enter your own search profile and create it according to industry, geography, size, capital, etc.
Sellers, as our clients, can also find a potential successor this way. Always protected by the anonymous presentation and security buffer of our KERN processes.
The DIHK Nachfolgereport 2020 has shown that business successions have been severely slowed down, especially by the pandemic. But this no longer has to be the case. Our stock exchange and our advisors actively support you.When considering succession advice as an entrepreneur, the question arises as to how much it will cost. The answer cannot be generalised, as it depends on the size and complexity of the business, the type of succession planning and the particular circumstances of the owner and the business. At KERN, we work strongly success-oriented and even guarantee the sale of a business under certain circumstances. Without any risk for the seller: https://www.kern-unternehmensnachfolge.com/erfolgsgarantie/
Business succession advice
Succession planning is crucial for the long-term success of companies. Everyone who runs a company will face this challenge sooner or later. In order not to have to go through this process alone and run the high risk of making mistakes, the use of a M&A consulting meaningful.
Advice on business succession is about planning the future of your life’s work. This includes topics such as the creation of a succession plan, the selection of a successor and the implementation of the handover.
If you are also facing a business succession, we will be happy to assist you. During a free initial consultation, we can discuss together how your goals can be achieved concretely and safely.
We advise clients who wish to sell their business as well as entrepreneurs who are looking to buy or make an intra-family transfer within the family business.