What custo­mers and business partners say about us

KERN M&A Success Guarantee
Seal Best Advisors for Business Succession
Seal Top Business Succession Consulting
Best Advisors - SZ Institute Award

Videos - State­ments about KERN

Projects (in extracts)

At the customer’s request, KERN was to sell the compa­ny quickly. 

Kontor Hermsen e.K. ? Compa­ny sale

Securing the company’s succes­si­on with the provi­so that all employees have a future was successful­ly implemented. 

Café Kraft / Bould­er­hal­le ? Compa­ny sale

The compa­ny was sold by KERN as part of a regula­ted retire­ment succession. 

FREQCON GmbH ? Compa­ny sale

The compa­ny sale was accom­pa­nied and imple­men­ted by KERN

Light­Part­ner Licht­sys­te­me GmbH & Co. KG ? Compa­ny sale

A classic compa­ny sale due to an ageing succession. 

Media Soluti­ons GmbH ? Compa­ny sale

The project included the comple­te prepa­ra­ti­on and support of the compa­ny sale by KERN - Unternehmens­nachfolge Münster-Osnabrück. 

g.on experi­ence GmbH ? Compa­ny sale

KERN accom­pa­nied the age-related succes­si­on from the prepa­ra­ti­on of the sale to the successful conclu­si­on of the purcha­se contract. 

Teufel & Gerlach GmbH ? Compa­ny sale

KERN support­ed this project as part of an unexpec­ted succes­si­on plan and the successful sales process to a strate­gic investor. 

Spedi­ti­on Knorr GmbH - Sale of the company

This health­ca­re compa­ny was sold to an MBI with experi­ence in the sector as part of a classic succes­si­on plan. 

Grüssing Medical Supply Store ? Compa­ny sale

KERN assis­ted the client in the search for a suita­ble succes­sor. The task included the prepa­ra­ti­on, imple­men­ta­ti­on, buyer identi­fi­ca­ti­on incl. all tasks up to the handover.

Krauss & Coll Geocon­sult GmbH & Co. KG ? Compa­ny sale

KERN accom­pa­nied the entire sales process right up to the closing.

Spectro­mat - Mass Spectro­me­ter GmbH ? Compa­ny sale

KERN accom­pa­nied the process from the prepa­ra­ti­on of the sale, the search for the purcha­se candi­da­tes to the sales negotiations.

hms sonosys­tems GmbH - Compa­ny sale

The entire process, from the prepa­ra­ti­on of the sale, the search for the purcha­se candi­da­tes to the sales negotia­ti­ons, was accom­pa­nied by KERN

Klink Betrie­be GmbH & Co. KG- Compa­ny sale

As part of the corpo­ra­te strategy, a compa­ny acqui­si­ti­on was the favou­red option for future growth.

Pohlmann+Bindel GmbH&Co.KG - Compa­ny acquisition

KERN accom­pa­nied the process from the prepa­ra­ti­on of the sale, the search for the purcha­se candi­da­tes to the sales negotiations. 

GygMa GmbH- Compa­ny sale

The entire sales process was accom­pa­nied by KERN and successful­ly completed.

Wink GmbH & Co. KG - Compa­ny sale

The chall­enge was to find a succes­sor who recog­nis­ed the poten­ti­al of the brand. The entire sales process was accom­pa­nied and imple­men­ted by KERN

The Sports­wear Compa­ny GmbH & Co. KG - Compa­ny sale

The auction house was successful­ly sold by KERN as part of a corpo­ra­te succession. 

Aukti­ons­haus Plück­baum GmbH - Compa­ny sale

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. 

Willem­sen GmbH - Compa­ny sale

The entire process of securing a succes­sor, from the search for an inves­tor to the hando­ver, was successful­ly support­ed and imple­men­ted by KERN

BASYS Bartsch EDV-Syste­me GmbH - Compa­ny sale

A special approach was neces­sa­ry for this compa­ny sale, as it is a small but fine company. 

Organic whole­me­al bakery Café Hans Oehmen - compa­ny sale

The chall­enge of this compa­ny sale was to find a buyer with a passi­on for brewing and techni­cal exper­ti­se in mecha­ni­cal engineering. 

ATN GmbH - Compa­ny sale

The two founding partners have turned a start-up into a profi­ta­ble and estab­lished compa­ny within a few years.

EPSa - Elektro­nik & Präzi­si­ons­bau Saalfeld GmbH - Compa­ny sale

The entire sales process was accom­pa­nied by KERN and despi­te the Corona pande­mic, the project was successful­ly comple­ted within 9 months. 

Kremer Machi­ne Systems GmbH - Compa­ny sale

Custo­mer testimonials

For us as a family business, the support provi­ded by Mr Koerber was a great benefit 

For us as a family business, combi­ned with the many challenges of the future genera­ti­on change, the support of Mr Koerber was a great benefit. Especi­al­ly through media­ti­on, we can now under­stand each other better and deal with conflicts differ­ent­ly. We recom­mend working with the experts from K.E.R.N. when problems arise in the succes­si­on process!

J.M., entre­pre­neur from Osnabrück  , Manufac­tu­ring, whole­sa­le and retail trade 

Even the parti­cu­lar­ly diffi­cult tasks … were solved optimally 

I am happy to have chosen KERN as my advisor in my succes­si­on process. In the run-up, I also exami­ned other offers and for me, the serious­ness and securi­ty of KERN was the decisi­ve criter­ion. At all times I felt that my KERN ? consul­tant at all times. Even the parti­cu­lar­ly diffi­cult tasks, such as finan­cing questi­ons and the drafting of contracts, were solved in the best possi­ble way. From me again and again!

M.M., entre­pre­neur in the Hanau area near Frankfurt  , Market leader for special services and online trading house 

Pleasant feeling of not having made a mistake! 

Thank you Mr Lang for the relia­ble and pleasant coope­ra­ti­on.
I have the pleasant feeling that I have not decei­ved myself and can and
I will recom­mend you at any time. L. K.?

L.K.

Mr Rehfuß from KERN provi­ded us with compe­tent and profes­sio­nal support at all times. 

Mr. Rehfuß from the KERN locati­on in Stutt­gart provi­ded us with compe­tent and profes­sio­nal support at all times during the compa­ny takeover. Even diffi­cult phases were handled successful­ly and prompt­ly. The advice & support was important and helped us in all aspects of this very complex topic.

Gilbert Di Zillo  , IGZ GmbH 

Organi­sa­ti­on of a successful succes­si­on for a craft business 

We were very satis­fied with Mr Claus from the KERN compa­ny. In parti­cu­lar, his commit­ment helped us a lot in organi­s­ing a successful succes­si­on for a craft business. We are happy to recom­mend Mr Claus to others.

Herbert Seus  , Entre­pre­neur from Wilhelmshaven 

Profes­sio­nal and relia­ble until successful completion 

Especi­al­ly in the diffi­cult phases, my advisor closed the gaps and paved the way for a further negotia­ti­on.
Every­thing was profes­sio­nal and relia­ble, meetings outside normal business hours were possi­ble at any time.
Profes­sio­nal­ly, I feel compre­hen­si­ve and in good hands, the successful conclu­si­on is an expres­si­on of KERN competence!

J.M.

I have enjoy­ed working with KERN very much 

I have very much enjoy­ed working with KERN and, as a repre­sen­ta­ti­ve of the buyer side, am always pleased when sellers ? especi­al­ly family businesses ? recei­ve holistic advice and are speci­fi­cal­ly prepared for a sale.

F.H., respon­si­ble M&A manager in NRW  , Inter­na­tio­nal services group 

Exciting method for sustainable leader­ship change 

MeinST­ABWECH­SEL is an exciting method for a sustainable change of leader­ship in family businesses. With amazing ease, you find your own values and needs.
At the end of the journey, the goal, path and time frame appeared to me as a 3D vision for my perso­nal baton change. So I worked out my ?to do list? myself in the best atmosphe­re and with the support of KERN.

Klaus-Peter Gust  , Entrepreneur 

I hope that family businesses will take advan­ta­ge of your recommendations 

Rarely has the feedback from the audience been so unani­mously positi­ve! You convey­ed the topic authen­ti­cal­ly and with heart in every respect. I hope that family businesses will take advan­ta­ge of your recommendations.

Ingrid Marten  , Weser­marsch Econo­mic Development 

KERN contri­bu­ti­on to our nation­wi­de action day on business succession 

Thank you for your innova­ti­ve contri­bu­ti­on to our nation­wi­de DIHK Action Day on Business Succes­si­on. Focusing on the “soft” issues is in line with our experi­ence of what makes a succes­si­on successful. The four phases provi­de struc­tu­re and orien­ta­ti­on in a very complex process. We’ll be happy to do it again on another occasion.

Markus Neuner  , IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria 

KERN’s help, advice & support is worth its weight in gold 

As an entre­pre­neur with over 40 years of profes­sio­nal experi­ence, you certain­ly know a lot about a lot of things, but in no way about “succes­si­on”. :-). I can only highly recom­mend Nils Koerber and Ingo Claus. Emotio­nal­ly, human­ly and profes­sio­nal­ly, succes­si­on is one of the most diffi­cult tasks that an entre­pre­neur has to solve. The help, advice & support is worth its weight in gold and has really helped us in all aspects of this very complex topic. And it all worked out.

Klaus Bronder - vom Hove  , Entre­pre­neur from Enniger­loh - Owner of a premi­um furni­tu­re store 

Without Karl Rehfuß I would proba­b­ly have despai­red of the story long ago 

Without Karl Rehfuß and his often selfless and always optimi­stic commit­ment, I would proba­b­ly have despai­red of histo­ry long ago. All of us here are really glad to have had exact­ly this CORE expert at our side in these past diffi­cult times.

Jürgen Bantel 

Maintai­ned a constant dialo­gue between myself as the seller and the poten­ti­al acquirers 

What I parti­cu­lar­ly liked about KERN and Mr Ingo Claus was the very profes­sio­nal and trusting way in which he dealt with me as a compa­ny seller and the interes­ted parties. Mr Claus always acted in a soluti­on-orien­ted manner and was in constant dialo­gue between me as the seller and the poten­ti­al buyers. Even though in the end the sale was not concluded, which was due to exter­nal circum­s­tances, I was very satis­fied with the work done by Kern and Mr Claus and would recom­mend Kern and him at any time and without reservation.

M.B. ? Project develo­per from Buxtehude  , Owner of a proper­ty develo­p­ment company 

Speed impres­si­ve, form always appro­pria­te to the situa­ti­on, behaviour honest … 

I would like to thank you very much for your support during the sale of the compa­ny. The speed was impres­si­ve, the form always appro­pria­te to the situa­ti­on, the behaviour honest and unpre­ten­tious ? it could­n’t have been better! Thanks to your support, we were able to conclude this project satis­fac­to­ri­ly for all of us.

C.K., entre­pre­neur from the Weser-Ems region  , Produc­tion compa­ny and trading company 

… Very satis­fied and would recom­mend Kern at any time and without reservation. 

What I parti­cu­lar­ly liked about KERN and Mr Ingo Claus was the very profes­sio­nal and trusting way in which he dealt with me as a compa­ny seller and the interes­ted parties. Mr Claus always acted in a soluti­on-orien­ted manner and was in constant dialo­gue between me as the seller and the poten­ti­al buyers. Even though the sale was not comple­ted in the end, which was due to exter­nal circum­s­tances, I was very satis­fied with the work done by KERN and Mr Claus and would recom­mend KERN and him at any time and without reservation.

M.B., entre­pre­neur from Lower Saxony  , Owner of a proper­ty develo­p­ment company 

Using many examp­les, he descri­bed the complex process of finding a succes­sor in a very practi­cal way 

I got to know Ingo Claus from KERN as a speak­er at a highly recom­men­ded workshop on the topic of selling a compa­ny. Using many examp­les, he descri­bed the complex process of finding a succes­sor in a very practi­cal way.

T.M. ? Compa­ny sales­man from Osnabrück 

… how important your topics are and that you were very convin­cing as a speaker. 

Thank you very much for your presen­ta­ti­on at our confe­rence. The unani­mously positi­ve feedback from the 150 members of the audience confirm­ed how important your topics are and that you were very convin­cing as a speak­er from KERN.

Lothar Sand  , German Publishers and Booksel­lers Association 

Compa­ny sale profes­sio­nal­ly accom­pa­nied and imple­men­ted from start to finish 

KERN profes­sio­nal­ly accom­pa­nied and imple­men­ted my compa­ny sale from start to finish. Finding a buyer was surpri­sin­gly quick and the subse­quent succes­si­on process was compe­tent­ly accom­pa­nied and modera­ted at all times.

H-J. N., entre­pre­neur from Neuss  , Germany’s largest dealer of a premi­um brand of copiers and DMSs 

It helps enorm­ously to have a neutral perso­na­li­ty as a contact person for all members of the family. 

Our inter­nal family succes­si­on and the coaching of my sons was handled very sensi­tively and with commit­ment by Mr Koerber. Many insights and activi­ties would have been left out in our family without the KERN support of our genera­tio­nal change. It helps enorm­ously to get an outside perspec­ti­ve and to have a neutral perso­na­li­ty available as a contact person for all members of the family.

K.S., entre­pre­neur from Essen  , Person­nel service provider 

Ingo Claus from KERN repre­sen­ted me and my interests optimally 

When unexpec­ted compli­ca­ti­ons arose during negotia­ti­ons for the takeover of a practi­ce, I turned to KERN and Mr. Ingo Claus. From the very begin­ning, I felt profes­sio­nal­ly accom­pa­nied by Mr Claus and that I and my interests were optimal­ly repre­sen­ted. Thanks to Mr. Claus’ negotia­ting skills, his objec­ti­ve, clear, goal-orien­ted commu­ni­ca­ti­on, his efforts to find a good soluti­on for both parties to the contract and his outstan­ding abili­ty to calmly media­te and maintain an overview, a soluti­on satis­fac­to­ry to both sides (!) was quick­ly found for the takeover of the practi­ce. Many thanks!

A.P. ? Specia­list from Bramsche  , Owner of a specia­list medical practice 

The complex topic was very well illus­tra­ted by KERN. and presen­ted in an under­stan­da­ble way. 

We engaged KERN as part of a seminar to show our associa­ti­on members the various options for succes­si­on planning. KERN illus­tra­ted the complex topic very well and presen­ted it in an under­stan­da­ble way. The feedback from the seminar parti­ci­pan­ts was consis­t­ent­ly positi­ve. We as organisers also had only positi­ve experiences.

VdAW e.V.

The mixtu­re from KERN was so far unique in its kind and there­fo­re parti­cu­lar­ly valuable 

Thank you very much for your lively contri­bu­ti­on to the BVMW event Compa­ny Succes­si­on in Practi­ce. Mr Grepp­mair, you succee­ded in a special way in entering the world of the audience - the entre­pre­neurs affec­ted by the succes­si­on - and picking them up where they are parti­cu­lar­ly emotio­nal. The mixtu­re of lectu­re and role play was so far unique in its kind and there­fo­re parti­cu­lar­ly valuable.

Achim von Michel  , Bundes­ver­band mittel­stän­di­sche Wirtschaft e.V. (Federal Associa­ti­on of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses) 

Without the view from outside, we would proba­b­ly never have reached our goal so quick­ly and safely 

In the context of my compa­ny succes­si­on, the merger with a compe­ti­tor compa­ny was the ideal soluti­on. The KERN team, and especi­al­ly Mr. Koerber, accom­pa­nied us sensi­tively as a modera­tor and process facili­ta­tor and combi­ned the interests of both negotia­ting partners well. Without the view from outside and the negotia­ting experi­ence, we would proba­b­ly never have reached our goal so quick­ly and safely!

J.K. Entre­pre­neur from Berlin  , Trade and services 

Very much appre­cia­ted his abili­ty to get to grips with the ins and outs of family businesses 

I got to know Mr Claus in 2010 as part of an expan­si­on project for an owner-managed compa­ny. During this time, I came to appre­cia­te his goal-orien­ted approach and his abili­ty to get to grips with the speci­fics of family businesses. I am happy to recom­mend him.

Petra Rausch ? Entre­pre­neur from Lohmar  , Advises family businesses on inter­na­tio­na­li­sa­ti­on projects 

Final­ly time for a new life plan 

Mr Grepp­mair from KERN assis­ted me with the sale of my caret­a­ker service in Munich in an always pleasant and very compe­tent manner. In just nine months, he managed to sell my compa­ny at a satis­fac­to­ry price despi­te falling sales and the Corona crisis. In doing so, he made a decisi­ve contri­bu­ti­on to a new life plan that I had longed for for a long time. Many thanks for that!

Stefan Krebs  , GEON-Gebäudemanagement 

If KERN accom­pa­nies, the chances increase signi­fi­cant­ly that Commerz­bank will be available 

If KERN accom­pa­nies an inves­tor and develo­ps a business plan with the MBI/MBO, the chances increase signi­fi­cant­ly that Commerz­bank will be available with financing.

Commerz­bank Bavaria  , Corpo­ra­te Relati­onship Manager 

KERN has clear­ly opened a path for my son 

KERN’s coaching has clear­ly opened up a path for my son, with which we can now dedica­te oursel­ves together to the project of genera­tio­nal change, in the sense of conti­nuing the family business. We as parents simply cannot convey some things in the same way and help to reali­se how a profes­sio­nal coach can.

K.V., entre­pre­neur from Frankfurt  , Traders and service provi­ders in the IT segment 

Coope­ra­ti­on in recent months has been charac­te­ri­sed by profes­sio­na­lism and trust 

The coope­ra­ti­on over the past months has been charac­te­ri­sed by profes­sio­na­lism and trust; I, too, have always felt well repre­sen­ted by you, even though I have been not was your client. All the greater the compli­ment! MANY THANKS!

U.S., entre­pre­neur and buyer of a compa­ny in Bavaria  , IT services 

After a lengthy selec­tion process we decided on KERN 

By its very nature, there are not multi­ple oppor­tu­ni­ties when selling a business. That is why choosing the right manage­ment consul­tant is so important. After a lengthy selec­tion process, we decided on KERN and Holger Haber­mann. With great perso­nal commit­ment, Mr. Haber­mann has successful­ly maste­red all tasks, both in terms of content and manage­ment. I would parti­cu­lar­ly like to empha­sise the wide-ranging exper­ti­se, the metho­di­cal approach, the objec­ti­ve, calm manner and the straight­for­ward­ness in the discussion.

H.K., entre­pre­neur from Bavaria  , Owner of an infor­ma­ti­on techno­lo­gy company 

And a short time later I was able to hand over the practi­ce to a compe­tent successor 

My great wish to sell my physio­the­ra­py practi­ce remain­ed unsuc­cessful despi­te all my efforts and also several job inter­views. With his great, empathe­tic manner, Mr Grepp­mair quick­ly helped me to recog­ni­se the real reason. I reali­sed that the cause was me and that I was uncon­scious­ly not yet ready to let go. This changed quick­ly with his help and a short time later I was able to hand over the practi­ce to a compe­tent succes­sor. Many thanks for that!

Ursula Herzog  , Physiotherapist 

… we succee­ded in finding exact­ly the right compa­ny for our parti­cu­lar niche 

We had our growth strategy accom­pa­nied by the specia­lists from KERN. With a precise target analy­sis and detail­ed market research, we succee­ded in finding exact­ly the right compa­ny for our parti­cu­lar niche. The effort invol­ved in such a step should not be undere­sti­ma­ted. With KERN, we have found profes­sio­nal support. At the same time, the succes­si­on problem of the compa­ny to be taken over could be solved substan­ti­al­ly and in the long term.

W.S., Managing Direc­tor from the Frankfurt/Main area  , Waste manage­ment service provi­der, market leader in a niche segment 

… are surpri­sed what great energies have been released in all of us 

Change also means dealing with the cultu­re, the goals, the respon­si­bi­li­ties and the “rules of the game” in a compa­ny. With KERN, we have embark­ed on the exciting path of creating our own indivi­du­al corpo­ra­te philo­so­phy and have been surpri­sed at the great energies that have been released in all of us. For the benefit of our custo­mers, employees and the entire compa­ny. Thanks to KERN for the targe­ted and profes­sio­nal modera­ti­on and development.

G-O.B, entre­pre­neur from Koblenz  , Dealers and service provi­ders in the hardware and software sector 

From the very first moment, KERN unders­tood how to create a very trusting basis for the project. 

From the very first moment, Mr. Ingo Claus unders­tood how to create a very trusting basis for the start of the project - to form a basis for discus­sion among the share­hol­ders within the frame­work of a workshop, so that a very effici­ent further develo­p­ment of the ideas could take place within the compa­ny. We would like to thank you for this very pleasant and trusting coope­ra­ti­on and will gladly recom­mend your group of compa­nies to others.

I.K. - Entre­pre­neur from Flensburg  , Co-partner of a sewer cleaning company 

… We have achie­ved our goal and can defini­te­ly recom­mend working with KERN

The KERN team was recom­men­ded to me as part of our compa­ny sale and, in retro­s­pect, we are very glad to have recei­ved this tip. The negotia­ti­on process for the sale was complex, lengthy and someti­mes threa­ten­ed by emotio­nal misun­derstan­dings in the outco­me. However, thanks to the great experi­ence and skill of our KERN consul­tant, we achie­ved our goal and can defini­te­ly recom­mend working with KERN.

J.F. , Entre­pre­neur in the Osnabrück area  , Trade and techni­cal services 

We have Ingo Claus from KERN to thank for the unexpec­ted­ly successful sale of our company 

Mr. Ingo Claus had accom­pa­nied us in the diffi­cult task of finding a suita­ble succes­sor for our expert office. We owe the unexpec­ted­ly successful sale of our compa­ny to him. Mr Claus has a fine sense for tricky negotia­ting situa­tions, skilful­ly and calmly he finds the right ideas for soluti­ons that are accep­ta­ble to both contrac­ting parties. Mr Claus accom­pa­nied the project with a wealth of experi­ence, knowledge of human nature and negotia­ting skills. We are happy to recom­mend him.

Katha­ri­na Leisner ? Specia­list planner from Harsewinkel  , Owner of an enginee­ring and planning office 

And indeed, I had not been promi­sed too much, … 

In my search for a compe­tent advisor who would profes­sio­nal­ly support me in the sale of my compa­ny, Norbert Lang was recom­men­ded to me. And indeed, I was not promi­sed too much, from the valua­ti­on through all stages of the process of prepa­ring the sale to the signing of the contracts, Mr Lang was always a very knowled­geable compa­n­ion and advisor. I can recom­mend him with a clear conscience!

Klaus Markstahler 

An extre­me­ly reputa­ble and compe­tent partner in the accom­p­animent of succes­si­on processes. 

We have had very good experi­ence with Norbert Lang in parti­cu­lar. He is an extre­me­ly serious and compe­tent contact person when accom­pany­ing succes­si­on proces­ses. As a lectu­rer at lectu­re events, he impres­ses with his very lively and authen­tic style.

J. K. 

Parents and child­ren from family businesses have a very concre­te benefit from this 

Our clients are medium-sized compa­nies and the challenges of genera­tio­nal change, compa­ny sales or emergen­cy provi­si­ons are ‘peren­ni­al issues’ for us. We have been working with Mr Koerber and KERN for years and value his practi­cal knowledge and the orien­ted training and coaching. Parents and child­ren from family businesses benefit from this in a very tangi­ble way.

W.S., further educa­ti­on insti­tu­te from Rheda-Wiedenbrück  , Head of a nation­wi­de acade­my for trading companies 

Especi­al­ly the serious­ness and profes­sio­na­lism gave me a secure feeling at all times 

My pre-selec­tion decis­i­on to 100% proved to be the right one. KERN did a really good job from the prepa­ra­ti­on of my compa­ny in an exposé, to the search for buyers, to the facili­ta­ti­on of negotia­ti­ons and the comple­te imple­men­ta­ti­on of my succes­si­on. In parti­cu­lar, the serious­ness and profes­sio­na­lism gave me a secure feeling at all times. Our goal was successful­ly achie­ved in a good 8 months. I am happy to recom­mend KERN to others.

G.O.K., entre­pre­neur from Hamburg  , Service provi­der with own branch locations