In fact, the house bank is far less relevant to the process of a merger in the SME sector than one might think at first glance. However, in general, the house bank can be a good partner for debt financing in a transaction. For example, there are some house banks that are happy to provide financing for transactions involving companies that they have been supporting for years and know well, as there is little risk involved here.

Support by specialized lawyers

Lawyers specialized in corporate law have an excellent knowledge of contract drafting and support companies in a transaction process, especially in the later stages when it comes to contract negotiations after the commercial issues have already been largely clarified.

Optimization through auditors and tax consultants

Auditors are responsible in particular for preparing the figures in order to be able to provide potential investors with cleanly prepared financial figures in the context of financial due diligence. This is an essential part of a possible purchase decision, especially for financial investors.

Tax advisors optimize the corporate structure in order to generate the lowest possible tax burden for sellers and buyers.

Cooperation between advisor and company necessary

Corporate finance advisors (M&A advisors) accompany the entire transaction process from A to Z, i.e. directly after the decision to carry out a transaction up to the signing of the contract at the notary. The role of the M&A advisor is to structure a process adapted to the needs of the company and to use the preparation phase efficiently for the preparation of the transaction documents, the preparation of the due diligence and the identification of suitable buyers. In this phase a very close cooperation between consultants and the company is necessary to prepare high quality marketing documents and to prepare the due diligence in such a way that the investors do not have any reason to doubt the company later on due to non-existing documents or questions that cannot be answered. In the marketing phase or sales process, selected investors are approached and possible buyers are selected according to qualitative and commercial aspects. Here, the sales price is usually determined in a competitive bidding process, which then decides which potential buyers enter the due diligence phase and finally the contract negotiations.