Transaction Advisory is – together with Corporate Broking and Industries – a part of Berenberg's Strategic Advisory unit which operates on the principles Independence, Intelligence and Integrity.

Transaction Advisory

Our highly motivated team of classically trained M&A and ECM professionals renders independent, high quality advice to a variety of domestic and international clients. With significant experience of various types of equity-related corporate transactions, including the acquisition and sale of companies, of majority/minority participations and of corporate assets as well as mergers, joint ventures, strategic alliances and defence strategies, our team has the broad experience to advise on strategy and detailed execution at the highest level. Most of the projects managed by our team involve potential investors from outside of Germany. All team members are fluent in at least two languages, several can deal in three or more, including for instance Polish, Russian and Japanese. All have international experience with clients in the US, Europe and Asia.

Our Transaction Advisory team serves as advisor to a variety of domestic and international clients:

• Large and medium-sized publicly-traded companies
• Privately-held businesses, entrepreneurs and private clients
• Private equity, venture capital and special situations investors
• MBO/MBI managers and other management teams
• Family offices, trusts and fiduciaries
• Federal and state governments, municipalities and sovereign wealth funds.

Together with our clients we strive to develop creative and tailor-made solutions. We discreetly connect providers of private equity capital and companies/individuals which are seeking such capital. Typical situations, in which clients benefit from our knowledge-based transaction advice, are:

• Public takeovers and going private transactions
• Defence strategies and support for public companies
• Dual track sale and IPO processes
• Add-on acquisitions and exit scenarios of financial investors
• Disposal of non-core activities (spin-offs, carve-outs, etc.)
• Solving of succession issues or conflicts between various shareholder groups
• Conversion of ‘illiquid’ equity participations into cash
• Acceleration of growth via expansion of shareholder base
• MBOs and MBIs
• Fulfilment of anti-trust/merger control commitments.

Our objective is to achieve an optimal transaction result for our clients in both quantitative and qualitative terms. We render advisory services on private as well as on public Mergers & Acquisitions. In a sale process, for example, we perform the following services, if appropriate:

• Advise on suitable structure and timing of the process
• Assess appetite and reliability of potential investors
• Identify and approach potential investors
• Prepare marketing documents (e.g. short profile, information memorandum/package, procedure letters)
• Manage all phases of the transaction process
• Organise data room and coordinate due diligence review
• Support target management with regard to presentations
• Analyse indicative and binding offers
• Provide strategic and tactical advice.

In addition to the detailed planning and result-oriented execution of M&A projects from A to Z, we provide numerous ancillary transaction-related services, such as:

• Preparation of fairness opinions for management and supervisory boards
• Valuation of companies, participations and assets
• Preparation of defence manuals
• Arranging of third-party acquisition financing
• Settlement agent services.

Our impartial transaction advice is based in particular on the combination of in-depth process know-how and profound knowledge of various industries. As part of Berenberg’s clear sector approach, our industry specialists cover four focus industry groups: Retail and Consumer Goods, Telecoms-Media-Technology, Healthcare & Chemicals and General Industries (including Automotive/Capital Goods, Logistics/Services and Renewables).

The Transaction Advisory team is closely linked with Berenberg’s capital markets and private banking operations. This allows direct and swift access to all types of decision makers (e.g. board members of listed companies, entrepreneurs, etc.) across Europe and beyond.