Portrait: VR Equitypartner

The entire know-how as well as the decis­ion-making proces­ses are tail­o­red to the foun­der, wrong prio­ri­ties are set or the company owner is not yet emotio­nally ready to hand over the life’s work. Three to five years before the plan­ned hando­ver, conside­ra­tion should be given to the type of succes­sion that might be conside­red. Succes­sor candi­da­tes within the family often do not have the same profes­sio­nal quali­ties as poten­tial exter­nal mana­gers. In order to faci­li­tate the tran­si­tion, the timely instal­la­tion of a second manage­ment level and the intro­duc­tion of manage­ment and control­ling proces­ses are also unavo­ida­ble. An inven­tory of the econo­mic situa­tion helps to iden­tify the market posi­tion as well as oppor­tu­ni­ties and risks. Exter­nal advi­sors such as the company’s bank, tax advi­sors, audi­tors and M&A consul­tants are indis­pensable in this respect. In addi­tion, a majo­rity or mino­rity stake by expe­ri­en­ced inves­tors — such as those from VR Equi­typ­art­ner — can be helpful as the search for succes­sors extends over seve­ral years. The equity finan­cier is a subsi­diary of DZ BANK and focu­ses on support­ing succes­si­ons in the SME sector.
In the event of an unpre­pared succes­sion, VR Equi­typ­art­ner has deve­lo­ped a concept with which the resul­ting disad­van­ta­ges can be avoided and the future of the company can be shaped posi­tively through targe­ted invest­ments. Regard­less of whether it is a majo­rity or mino­rity stake, VR Equi­typ­art­ner brings its exper­tise and network to the table and helps to make its own company ready for succes­sion in the fore­seeable future. This is because the new finan­cial resour­ces can be used to prepare the stra­te­gic realignment, streng­then the market posi­tion and make neces­sary invest­ments that could not be reali­zed with the exis­ting equity. A compre­hen­sive process with the goal of gene­ra­ting a solu­tion that honors the life’s work and conti­nues it accordingly.