The German SME sector comprises over 30,000 companies with a turnover of between EUR 10 and 250 million; 12,000 of these companies are owner-managed. Owners and decision-makers in the SME sector are preoccupied with growth strategies and optimizing their own business model. Added to this are the challenges posed by digitalization, the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for two years now and, since February 2022, the Ukraine crisis and its impact on the energy sector in particular.
Against this backdrop, SMEs need to position themselves for the future and explore future potential. Company acquisitions and sales (M&A) are a tried and tested means of coping with the many changes – however, the topic initially presents SMEs with many new challenges.
Against this backdrop, the Bundesverband Mergers & Acquisitions e.V. (BM&A), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has launched a study on the status of M&A in the SME sector with its publication organ M&A REVIEW. The results of the study will be presented on May 10 at the Mittelstandstag M&A 2022 in Essen.
In preparing the study, the BM&A was not only supported by experts from the association, but also by the German Institute for Business Succession (DIfU). The DIfU has been providing assistance to small and medium-sized companies looking for a successor for a number of years with various offers such as events and the magazine “LEBENSWERK”.
In consultation with the Chairman of the BM&A Board, Prof. Dr. Kai Lucks, the association has decided to join forces on the topic of SME and succession M&A in the regions and to cooperate more closely with the DIfU. As a first step, DIfU board member Steffen Bolz is working closely with the federal association’s SME M&A initiative. The initiative is currently managed from the BM&A office.
What the collaboration means in concrete terms:
- The “Succession Days” currently organized by the DIfU will be organized jointly with the BM&A in future.
- The SME magazine “LEBENSWERK” published by DIfU will in future be co-published by DIfU and BM&A, orchestrated by M&A Media Services GmbH, which also publishes M&A REVIEW.
In the 20th year of its existence, the BM&A is cooperating with the DIfU to provide even more active support to SMEs in Germany and to leverage synergies in order to optimally understand and address the issues of German SMEs. The Mittelstandstag M&A 2022 is the first joint step. With “LEBENSWERK”, SMEs will also receive a publication that addresses challenges in the area of succession and M&A and uses practical examples to show possible solutions, which can be disseminated in an even more targeted manner thanks to the cooperation between BM&A and DIfU.
Prof. Dr. Kai Lucks: “We are looking forward to working together. We believe that entrepreneurial transformations, which include not only takeovers and mergers, but also any models that come to us from the digital and networked world, will also change the SME sector in unprecedented ways. The BM&A can provide SMEs with a wide range of suggestions and support, especially with the help of its leading network of expertise in these areas.”
