The bidding process
Basically, two different bidding procedures are used in a company sale. In a bidding procedure, in contrast to a fixed price offer, negotiations are held until (almost) the very end with several prospective buyers who have submitted attractive purchase offers. As in an auction, it is only in the course of the negotiations that it is decided who will win the bid and acquire the company.
Possible purchase price optimisation versus multiplication of effort
Dieses Verfahren dient der Optimierung des Kaufpreises und der übrigen Konditionen, erfordert jedoch einen hohen Zeit- und Projektaufwand bei der Koordination mehrerer Bieter. So werden bei einem Bieterverfahren zur Steigerung des Wettbewerbs unter den Kaufinteressenten parallele Verhandlungen und Unternehmensprüfungen (Due Diligence) durchgeführt. Bei kleineren Unternehmen ist dieser Aufwand neben dem eigentlichen Tagesgeschäft in vielen Fällen nicht umsetzbar.
Investors and bidding process
In addition, there are also investors who avoid bidding procedures because they shy away from the effort and costs involved in view of the uncertainty of winning. Therefore, it must always be weighed up on a case-by-case basis whether a bidding procedure is the right way to go. However, if the prerequisites are met, the bidding process usually leads to higher purchase prices.