Handling increasingly complex transaction processes

WTS Advi­sory is commit­ted to provi­ding target-orien­ted advice and active opera­tio­nal support to compa­nies along the entire CFO agenda.
In addi­tion to our Report­ing & Regu­la­tory and Finan­cial Services divi­si­ons, the Deal Advi­sory divi­sion focu­ses on compre­hen­sive services in connec­tion with M&A transactions.
As part of Deal Advi­sory, the M&A Stra­tegy team supports entre­pre­neurs in M&A proces­ses (sell-side and buy-side) from the prepa­ra­tion of tran­sac­tion docu­ments to approa­ching inves­tors or target compa­nies to the notary appointment.
In addi­tion, the Tran­sac­tion Advi­sory divi­sion provi­des process-rela­ted services such as finan­cial due dili­gence, purchase price allo­ca­tion, company valua­tions in accordance with IDW S1 or S6 and finan­cial modeling. 

Our highly quali­fied team provi­des our clients with a wide range of services rele­vant to M&A deals from a single source.
And this is very uncom­pli­ca­ted and at short notice, as we can complete the neces­sary conflict checks in the shor­test possi­ble time due to the fact that the WTS Group does not carry out audits of annual finan­cial statements.
For exam­ple, our own ESG depart­ment can address any omis­si­ons in this area before a tran­sac­tion, which can directly increase the value of the company. 

The same applies to our Digi­tal Unit, which specia­li­zes in the digi­ta­liza­tion of finan­cial functions.
For exam­ple, we also offer digi­tal solu­ti­ons for the report­ing of private equity inves­tors with large invest­ment portfolios.
Last but not least, the M&A depart­ments of large compa­nies also draw on the skills of our M&A specia­lists as part of M&A busi­ness partnering.
In busi­ness part­ne­ring, we are the “exten­ded and deepe­ning work­bench” for our clients in a posi­tive sense.
In addi­tion to projects, we also take on indi­vi­dual tasks, e.g. crea­ting a profile of a purchase target and work packa­ges such as the manage­ment of the virtual data room.
the support of the virtual data room. 

On the one hand, we see a chal­len­ging macroe­co­no­mic situa­tion at present and also in the medium term in a mixture of higher inte­rest rates, which make acqui­si­tion costs more expen­sive, chal­len­ging energy prices and only mini­mal econo­mic growth.
On the buyer side, this is leading to increased caution, more complex due dili­gence proces­ses and lower company valua­tions than in the record M&A year 2021. 

On the other hand, we are seeing the effects of ever-incre­asing regu­la­tion at the micro level of the indi­vi­dual entrepreneur.
It is beco­ming incre­asingly diffi­cult for many compa­nies to main­tain opera­ti­ons and remain profi­ta­ble with all the new requirements.
This is acce­le­ra­ting the M&A market, because “some entre­pre­neurs simply don’t want to do it anymore”.
One exam­ple is the toy indus­try, which is strugg­ling with micro­pla­s­tic or fore­sta­tion regu­la­ti­ons, machine certi­fi­ca­tion (see trade asso­cia­ti­ons, etc.) and extre­mely high report­ing costs.
Unfort­u­na­tely, times remain uncer­tain and volatile.
— We should be careful: these deve­lo­p­ments at compa­nies could ulti­m­ately lead to the deindus­tria­liza­tion of the country. 

Howe­ver, we can also report posi­tive things from our daily prac­tice: With regard to company valua­tions, a “new normal” has sett­led in, admit­tedly at a lower level, so that buyers and sellers are once again finding each other much better in terms of purchase price expectations.
The private equity indus­try is also start­ing to invest more and more again — after a 30+% downs­wing in 2023. 

About Dr. Heiko Frank 

Dr. Heiko Frank, Dipl.-Kfm. has been a part­ner at WTS Advi­sory since 2021. He is respon­si­ble for Mergers & Acqui­si­ti­ons and Board Advi­sory Services. His focus is on a holi­stic range of advi­sory services along the entire tran­sac­tion process — from M&A stra­te­gies and finan­cing to due dili­gence and the coor­di­na­tion of contract nego­tia­ti­ons and closing.

In his more than 30 years of profes­sio­nal expe­ri­ence, Dr. Frank has always worked in the area of “Natio­nal & Inter­na­tio­nal Profes­sio­nal Services” as a mana­ging direc­tor, board member and senior partner.
In addi­tion to leader­ship and manage­ment roles in consul­ting and corpo­rate finance compa­nies, he has prima­rily advi­sed mid-cap compa­nies and groups.
Dr. Heiko Frank is a member of the super­vi­sory board of seve­ral medium-sized (listed) compa­nies and has been a judge at Augs­burg Regio­nal Court since 2000. 

Heiko.Frank@wts.de