Selling a company runs in three phases: preparation, approaching the market, and negotiation through to closing. We run that process for you, while you concentrate on your day-to-day business.
30 minutes · video call · confidential
01
Preparation
02
Market and scrutiny
03
Negotiation and closing
Who we work for
We advise owner-managed mid-sized companies with an enterprise value of €10 to 100 million.
Strategic sale
Succession
Change of shareholders
Financial investor
“I'll only sell once. Am I really ready?”
“If word gets out too early, I'll lose my team and my customers.”
“If I negotiate with only one buyer, I'm the one with less leverage.”
“The sale occupies me every day while my business suffers.”
This is exactly what we're here for.
Your advantages
Certainty
You are selling your company for the first and only time. We have been guiding this process for over 15 years – and we know what matters before it becomes a problem.
Discretion
Your name is only revealed after a confidentiality agreement is signed. Your team, your customers and your competitors learn nothing until you decide otherwise.
Leverage
Several vetted bidders instead of a one-on-one negotiation. Leverage comes from having real alternatives.
Focus
You run your company, we run the sale. That keeps performance stable – which is exactly what matters.
The process
Three phases lead from preparation through approaching the market to closing.
01
Preparation
It starts with clarity about your personal objectives: a full or partial sale, price expectations, timeframe and – where there are several shareholders – a shared position.
On that basis, the business plan and financial model are built. For approaching buyers, the anonymous teaser and the information memorandum follow – the document buyers use to examine your company seriously for the first time – along with a prepared data room.
The actual increase in value happens beforehand – as part of exit readiness.
02
Market and scrutiny
Suitable parties are approached personally: strategic buyers, financial investors or family offices.
First, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is put in place, without your name being mentioned or circulating publicly beforehand. Then come indicative offers (letters of intent, LOIs), management presentations and due diligence, in which buyers examine figures, contracts and risks in the data room.
Several serious bidders mean not only a higher price, but also better terms on structure and warranties – and a significantly lower risk of having to restart the entire process if one buyer drops out during due diligence.
03
Negotiation and closing
On the basis of the binding offers, you select the buyer from the remaining bidders.
The share purchase agreement (SPA) and ancillary agreements are then negotiated: purchase price, payment structure, warranties and your role after handover.
Signing before a notary follows – a legal requirement for transferring shares in a German company – and then completion with payment of the purchase price (closing).
Duration: typically 9 to 12 months – from preparing the documents to the notary appointment. If you have invested in exit readiness beforehand, you shorten that window and reduce the risk of buyers dropping out mid-process.
Confidentiality
Discretion protects value: unrest in the team or rumours among customers and competitors cost you leverage. That is why the approach runs anonymously, every interested party signs a confidentiality agreement, and sensitive figures are released in stages.
When you tell your team about the sale
is your decision, not the process's.
Division of roles
Your day-to-day business carries on – we take on the operational load of the sale. At the decisive moments, such as management presentations, due diligence and negotiation rounds, we prepare you properly rather than leaving you to it.
What we take on
Documents, financial model and data room
Buyer research and personal approach
Managing competitive tension and the timetable
Leading negotiations through to closing
Coordinating lawyers, tax advisors and auditors
What stays with you
Which buyers are considered
Which offer counts for you
Management presentations: you present your company to buyers in person (we prepare you for it)
Taking part in due diligence: answering questions, explaining documents (we prepare you and we are there with you)
When and on what terms you sign
Expertise
Dr Willem Keijzer leads your sale personally – together with a well-practised team that builds the financial model, the sale documents and the data room. More than 25 years of experience: the doctorate-qualified engineer has advised DAX-listed corporations as well as mid-sized companies on strategy, digital transformation and operations. Since 2010 he has been guiding entrepreneurs through the sale of their companies.
Meet the partners
FAQ
We take on most of the organisational work: documents, approaching buyers, running the process. At the decisive moments – management presentations, due diligence, negotiation rounds – you are needed, and we prepare you for them. That keeps your day-to-day business manageable, even while the sale demands your attention.
Most owners sell only once or twice in their lives, while the buy side negotiates constantly and is becoming increasingly professional. An M&A advisor brings exactly what is missing at that point: negotiation experience, access to vetted buyers, a realistic view of value and the necessary emotional distance. From around €10 million in enterprise value, this raises both the achievable price and the likelihood that the sale succeeds.
The three most common mistakes: going to market unprepared, negotiating with only one interested party, and weakening your own position through indiscretion. The remedies are thorough preparation (exit readiness), a structured process with several bidders, and strict confidentiality until the right moment.
Good preparation begins well before the sale: robust figures, clarified contracts and shareholder structure, reduced dependence on you as the owner, and a convincing sale narrative. The cleaner these points are, the higher the price and the calmer the process. At CNX, this systematic preparation is what exit readiness covers – ideally 12 to 24 months before the sale.
Suitable buyers are not found through listings, but through systematic research and a solid network: strategic buyers, financial investors and family offices with a demonstrable track record of investing in your sector and size bracket. Only those with genuine interest and the means to act are approached – discreetly and personally. Several serious parties are not a luxury; they are your leverage.
Buyers expect robust financials and a coherent sale narrative. First they see the anonymous teaser; after the confidentiality agreement, the information memorandum with business model, market and key financials. In due diligence they then examine annual accounts, contracts, customer structure and risks. The cleaner these documents are, the smoother and faster the sale runs.
A teaser is a short, anonymous description of your company, used to approach potential buyers for the first time – without disclosing your name or identity.
The information memorandum is the detailed document – covering business model, market and key financials – that buyers use to examine your company seriously for the first time, after signing the confidentiality agreement.
An indicative offer, also called a letter of intent (LOI), is a buyer's non-binding first price offer.
An NDA obliges potential buyers to maintain confidentiality before they receive your name or sensitive company data.
Signing is the signature of the share purchase agreement (SPA) before a notary; closing is the subsequent completion of the transaction, including payment of the purchase price.
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