An experienced captain brings you to your destination quickly and safely! |  | Participation at Trade Fair Paid Off axanta AG at START 2011, Entrepreneur Trade Fair in Essen, Germany | After its first showing at START, an Entrepreneur Trade Fair that took place in the German city of Essen from 23–24 September 2011, axanta AG came away from the event with positive impressions. Satisfied with the outcome of the Trade Fair, Udo Goetz, the Managing Director of axanta AG said: “We had many fruitful and productive conversations on company succession and managed to establish contacts to numerous entrepreneurs who could be potential company purchasers in the future.” axanta AG is now regarded as one of the market leaders in Germany in business brokerage for small and medium-sized companies, boasting five branches across the country.
Eye-opening facts and figures justified the German M & A specialist’s presence at this Trade Fair: advancing age or illness of company owners means that around 70,000 companies in Germany look for a successor each year. Around 96% of these companies have a yearly turnover of less than 1 million Euros, placing them in the small to medium-sized business category, in which axanta AG is an active player.
According to recent statistics from the German Institute for Research into the Middle Class based in Bonn, 26,000 companies (38%) confronting the problem of finding a company successor pinpoint an external solution as the only way forward to allow their business to continue. Entrepreneurs themselves can play their role as potential successors and acquire––or partly acquire––such companies. |  | | axanta AG Trade Fair Stand: Udo Goetz, Managing Director of axanta AG: Interview | “The German middle class are confronted with serious issues when trying to find a company successor for their business. Almost 6,000 companies have to close their doors permanently each year as they fail to find an appropriate successor. Consequently, the jobs that these companies offer and their contribution to the German economy is irretrievably lost. Acting for the medium-sized businesses, M & A companies, therefore, play a vital role in the wider economic picture of a nation. Successful mediation with companies means that we receive numerous healthy and stable companies and offer, at the same time, entrepreneurs an excellent opportunity to be self-employed,” explained the M & A specialist.
Entrepreneurs should, therefore, also ask themselves whether it makes more sense to acquire a company as opposed to setting up a new one from scratch. Taking over a company, already well-established on the market, has numerous tangible benefits, including the existing and secure customer base over which it presides. Such a base ensures that there is a financial income from the first day of being self-employed. A qualified workforce, too, is already well-established in the company, meaning that time and, in many instances, money is saved as new employees do not have to be found. A functioning and well-worked infrastructure is also in place.
A strong argument for company successors is the considerably more attractive financial situation, too. As banks are not all that forthcoming with loans at the moment, entrepreneurs are likely to get their hands on easier credit from external institutions for an existing company with good balance sheets and profit margins as opposed to starting up a new company.
“Time and time again, we hear of start-ups falling at the first financial hurdle. It is fundamentally different with a takeover. We often speak here about levels of finance, but not about bank’s reluctance to provide credit because of the risk level,” according to the Managing Director of axanta AG.
Therefore, it is no surprise that many visitors to the Trade Fair took advantage of the information and advice at the axanta AG stand in Essen. “We were able to convince so many entrepreneurs about the advantages of acquiring existing companies. Our team at the Trade Fair spoke to numerous visitors about specific pre-approved companies, stored in our database and looking for successors. We are sure that we were able to provide excellent business brokerage to a number of interested entrepreneurs. In this light, our participation at the Trade Fair in Essen was a complete success,” Goetz emphasized.
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