The compa­ny exchan­ge (M&A). Verified listings from buyers and sellers.

KERN M&A Success Guarantee

What distin­gu­is­hes a compa­ny succes­si­on stock exchange?

Compa­ny succes­si­on in SMEs is the decisi­ve future topic for job securi­ty and social prospe­ri­ty in the entire D-A-CH region. Every compa­ny has a management/owner and alrea­dy in 2025 a good 70 % (!) of all compa­ny managers will be over 55 years old. And only a good 40 % of all family businesses will be able to solve the succes­si­on issue internally.

A business succes­si­on should be well thought out and, above all, planned early and careful­ly. No matter whether you want to pass on the business within the family or find a buyer, KERN helps you to go through the process as smooth­ly as possible.

In additi­on to the econo­mic, legal and tax aspects, it is mainly the emotio­nal background that needs to be conside­red. As advisors who can look at the situa­ti­on from an outside perspec­ti­ve, we are in a positi­on to help you to To support in the best possi­ble way and taking into account all factors.

One way to find the right succes­sor or buyer is to use KERN’s compa­ny exchan­ge or another reputa­ble M&A portal. This is where the two relevant parties meet, namely the seller and the buyer. This way, the process of finding and choosing a succes­sor or a business can be simplified.

You can count on our support for the selec­tion itself. In the follo­wing overview, we explain in more detail how a compa­ny exchan­ge works and what you should defini­te­ly pay atten­ti­on to.

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How does a compa­ny exchan­ge work?

A compa­ny exchan­ge is the Place where sellers and buyers of businesses come together. In the majori­ty of cases, compa­nies are no longer passed on within the family circle ? in this case, it is neces­sa­ry for the Compa­ny succes­si­on an exter­nal succes­sor must be sought.

The need is the same the other way round ? you don’t always become an entrepreneur:in by founding a compa­ny as a start-up. Via the compa­ny exchan­ge, interes­ted parties can be guided to the right compa­ny and take over a compa­ny in opera­ti­on. Below you will learn more about how to find both a business or a succes­sor within a business exchange.

Find a successor

With regard to succes­si­on, a compa­ny exchan­ge is parti­cu­lar­ly well suited. For most entre­pre­neurs, their own compa­ny is much more ? it is a life’s work that has taken up a large part of one’s time. Passing on this life’s work can be very diffi­cult, especi­al­ly on an emotio­nal level.

This is especi­al­ly the case if the passing on does not take place within one’s own family circle. However, not only the emotio­nal aspect plays a role ? many diffe­rent factors have to be conside­red. You should there­fo­re be aware that taking over a compa­ny cannot be done in a very short time.

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Find a company

You have decided to buy a compa­ny. But what exact­ly to do now?

Since buying is an alter­na­ti­ve to start­ing a business, you should first think careful­ly about what the alrea­dy existing business should fulfil. Which princi­ples and contents of a business model are important to you? What goals do you want to pursue with your future compa­ny? Sellers often place a high value on the company’s previous path being contin­ued and, in the best case, optimised.

The Business Succes­si­on Exchan­ge is the perfect network to get an overview of which compa­nies are on the market in the first place. This changes on a daily basis. As an MBI and inves­tor who wants to find and acqui­re a business, you will thus gain an insight into what is current­ly happe­ning in the field of compa­ny sales.

Compa­ny exchan­ges are not only suita­ble for the comple­te Compa­ny acqui­si­ti­onbut also for the propor­tio­nal entry into a socie­ty. This has advan­ta­ges for both you and the seller of the shares: They invest and thus not only get an entry into a compa­ny and a say in it, but also a Profit sharing and can take over further shares in the future. On the other hand, the seller can get to know you, imple­ment the trans­fer step by step together and hand over his life’s work in a manageable period of time.

Advan­ta­ges of buying an existing business

Start­ing a succes­si­on by buying an alrea­dy existing compa­ny offers many advan­ta­ges over start­ing a new one. Although perso­nal equity is usual­ly neces­sa­ry for this project, it is not neces­sa­ry to have it is a compa­ny that has alrea­dy estab­lished itself and is making a profit.

Both the custo­mer base and many diffe­rent compon­ents within the compa­ny alrea­dy exist and may only need to be optimi­sed. Further­mo­re, an existing compa­ny has Employees who are alrea­dy trained and have know-how in their industry.

With the help of compa­ny exchan­ges, you are close to the buyer and, in the first step, anony­mous to the poten­ti­al succes­sor. The business succes­si­on exchan­ge helps you find interes­ted parties who are ready, to pay a price and follow in your foots­teps. Although many diffe­rent aspects have to be conside­red in the selec­tion process, this way you make your business anony­mously visible to future acquirers.

With our help, you do not have to go through these complex proces­ses alone and can rely on active support.

We act in your interest and have set oursel­ves the goal of helping you in the best possi­ble way with the Compa­ny takeover (purcha­se or sale). 

In doing so, we even guaran­tee the sale of your compa­ny under certain conditions. 

And most important­ly: with us as a neutral ?buffer? between buyer and seller, discre­ti­on and anony­mi­ty are preser­ved for the longest time.

What you should bear in mind when searching on a compa­ny exchange

A compa­ny exchan­ge gives you the oppor­tu­ni­ty to find what you are looking for both as a buyer and as a seller. You can use it to present your compa­ny to the market and thus draw atten­ti­on to the fact that it is for sale and looking for a successor.

So have poten­ti­al buyers the oppor­tu­ni­ty to contact you and possi­bly take over the baton of the compa­ny. Although the succes­si­on process invol­ves a lot more than adver­ti­sing your compa­ny, this is the first way to develop a selec­tion of interes­t­ing and possi­ble successors. 

As someone who has decided to buy a business, a business exchan­ge is the right place for you. On this one, you will find a clear compi­la­ti­on of compa­nies that are for sale. In additi­on, you will recei­ve further infor­ma­ti­on about the compa­ny and can get an idea in advan­ce. If you are aware of your interests, you can use compa­ny exchan­ges to compa­re offers and choose the best ones for you.

For both sellers and buyers, some factors should not be ignored. In order to reach your goal without any problems, we will provi­de you with some tips that can support you.


Tips for poten­ti­al successors

In order to search for, buy and thus poten­ti­al­ly succeed the owners or share­hol­ders of a business, you should be aware of a few things in advan­ce and plan the process through. Don’t rush into anything, becau­se this decis­i­on is a big life decision.

The majori­ty of the most important factor is the finan­cial means for acqui­ring a compa­ny. Make sure that you are suffi­ci­ent­ly liquid in perspec­ti­ve. On the one hand, you must be able to ensure that the requi­red sum for the purcha­se of the compa­ny can be presen­ted with or without a finan­cing partner. Further­mo­re, you should Plan enough liqui­di­ty after the purcha­se to be able to imple­ment any changes and investments.

Become aware of exact­ly what kind of business you want to acqui­re. What indus­try do you want to be a part of and where is your perso­nal know-how and networks? What values do you repre­sent and do you want to repre­sent within the frame­work of this compa­ny? Also be clear about your goals and how you want to achie­ve them.

Check the company’s histo­ry careful­ly so as not to make a wrong decis­i­on. Look close­ly at the products and services offered by the compa­ny. As the succes­sor to the compa­ny, you should also be well infor­med about the target group, the market itself and the competition.

You should also be aware that in most cases a compa­ny always means taking over the employees. This is good insofar as they are alrea­dy famili­ar with the respec­ti­ve areas and have signi­fi­cant knowledge that will be useful to you later. Make sure that the transi­ti­on is made safe and as trans­pa­rent as possi­ble for the employees, becau­se a change of leader­ship positi­on also plays a role for them.

Tips for poten­ti­al sellers

For a prudent entre­pre­neur, it is of great importance to pass on one’s business into the right hands. The tips for a seller are not so diffe­rent from those we give to buyers.

Be aware of your values and goals. What do you want for your compa­ny in the future? Does the succes­sor fulfil these princi­ples? Do your research on the poten­ti­al buyer to rule out the possi­bi­li­ty of your life’s work falling into the wrong hands.

Know the value of your compa­ny. Do not sell below value and do not set utopian heights for an ideali­sed purcha­se price. The sales price should and can be well narro­wed down at an early stage using recog­nis­ed valua­ti­on methods.

Compa­ny succes­si­on should be planned and struc­tu­red. We at KERN support you in this ? from planning to handover.
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