Company succession

The succession process for a business begins and ends with a discussion of your objectives as an owner. Based on what you want to achieve and what your goals are, Forvis Mazars supports you as a reliable advisor and partner throughout the process.

If a full sale of the company is defined as the preferred route, we will be happy to support you with our extensive experience and energy, because a sale and the process behind it is a challenging, emotional but also fascinating task.

Our approach to company succession

As a first step, we work with you to develop a range of options, including defining which buyer groups represent the best and most sustainable solution for you and your business. In doing so, we always ensure that we consider 'fall-back' alternatives to maximise not only value creation but also transaction security. We generally distinguish between the following buyer groups

• Family succession (transfer/sale to individual family members and payout to other family members)
• Sale to strategic buyers (e.g. international competitors, conglomerates)
• Sale to financial investors
• Management buy-out/in (often in combination with financial investors)

We then manage the entire process, including valuation of the business, preparation of process and market documentation, identification and approach of buyers, due diligence phase, negotiations through to completion of the transaction.

In order to achieve a successful and sustainable business sale, we carefully guide you through the above steps and coordinate an efficient, well-communicated and professionally-executed sale process, which typically takes between 6 and 12 months.

Our business succession services include

• Assisting in the selection of a successor
• Developing the appropriate succession plan, including direct transfer, family foundation, trusts, etc.
• Tax-optimised structuring of the business succession
• Drafting the necessary contracts, such as articles of incorporation

Our added value

Based on listening to the client needs, our added value lies in the holistic and result-oriented advice we provide throughout the process.

• Interdisciplinary expertise from specialists in various fields (transaction, valuation, tax, legal, payroll...)
• Tailor-made solutions by taking into account the client's personal objectives as well as the tax and legal framework in order to develop optimal solutions.

The sales process is clearly and professionally communicated and executed, resulting in a successful and sustainable transaction.