Welcome to the Corporate Finance Mittelstandsberatung

We offer highly motivated professionals and university graduates with initial experience in mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance advisory interesting entry opportunities.

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In autumn I completed my M&A internship at the Corporate Finance Mittelstandsberatung GmbH (CF-MB) in Düsseldorf and was able to gain a deeper insight into the business area of "Corporate Finance". During my time at CF-MB, I supported the team in the management of buy and sell mandates (M&A), the preparation of marketing documents, the preparation of industry and research reports as well as general administrative tasks. In addition, I have gained initial experience in the field of acquisition financing projects with regard to the debt financing of corporate transactions and have thus gained an impression not only of the valuation of companies but also of the financial feasibility of a purchase price.

During my bachelor's studies I was already able to do my first internship at CF-MB and due to my extremely positive experience I was happy to return for another internship during my master's studies.

My experience

What was particularly exciting for me was that there is no typical daily routine in an M&A consultancy. At first glance this may seem a bit unusual, but I was looking forward to every day. No day is like the other, although there are regulated structures in the course of a project, short-term and new topics provide a broad variety. To accompany a long-term project and at the same time to be confronted with new questions again and again is a very exciting experience, which I can only recommend to everyone. In particular, one learns to allocate one's time sensibly and to set priorities in order to manage all tasks efficiently and in a structured manner.

Working with the CF-MB team was incredibly fun. Due to the flat hierarchies, I was able to gain impressions of the team members' different areas of responsibility. They always took their time when I had questions and offered me flexibility when I wanted to contribute new ideas.  I found it particularly exciting to get to know the working methods and tasks of the individual team members and partners at close quarters and to be involved.

In addition to the areas of responsibility in the individual M&A phases, I was also able to accompany parts of an acquisition financing. I found it very exciting to learn how the financing of share purchases is structured and how important a sound understanding of the bank is for this. In addition, internal training sessions helped me a lot to better understand individual specialist topics and to gain a sound understanding of the topic of company valuation.

Conclusion

As expected I was very satisfied with my internship at CF-MB. I particularly liked the content of my work as well as the collegial working atmosphere and the good atmosphere in the team. Since it is more common to work under time pressure and to meet deadlines, it is particularly important that you get on well with the other team members. For me, this includes setting clear requirements and goals and also maintaining good personal contact.

If you want to get a well-founded insight into the M&A business with medium-sized companies and not just stand on the sidelines, but want to be integrated into a team, I can only recommend an internship at CF-MB for your future career.

Julius Fischer

As a finance master's student, I know how highly competitive the job market is for the very sought-after positions in the corporate finance sector. In order to use my semester break to gain practical experience, I applied to Corporate Finance Mittelstandsberatung GmbH in Düsseldorf - a decision that more than paid off. Through my research, I knew that CF-MB handles national and international M&A deals across all industries and I hoped that this would give me a steep learning curve. After completing my two-month internship I can only say that my expectations were more than exceeded.

My work at CF-MB was very diversified. From day one I was immediately involved in all projects. During the internship I supported the team in the context of buy and sell mandates, in the preparation of various marketing documents, industry and company reports and in the execution of company valuations, to name just a few of my tasks. Through additional internal trainings I was able to learn a lot and broaden and deepen my M&A knowledge from my studies. I found it particularly pleasant that my colleagues took a lot of time to answer my questions. In general, I was very pleased that I was seen as a full team member at CF-MB right from the start. I was always allowed to bring in my own ideas and throughout the whole process I had the feeling that my opinion was actively asked for and also appreciated.

The M&A industry is often associated with long working hours and a conservative corporate structure. However, I can only partially confirm this for CF-MB. In my opinion, the working hours are below the industry average. Nevertheless, we have delivered an incredibly good output in the two months. This is mainly due to the mixture of productive, concentrated work and a collegial, relaxed atmosphere. I noticed that I was still able to learn a lot from my colleagues in terms of a structured and efficient way of working.

In summary, I can only say that the internship at CF-MB not only met my expectations but exceeded them. Besides the exciting and instructive tasks, it is especially the great working atmosphere and the team that distinguishes CF-MB from other M&A consultancies as an employer. If you want to get to know the M&A industry and get actively involved, I recommend an internship at CF-MB.

Niklas Scholz

In summer 2020 I completed my internship as M&A analyst at Corporate Finance Mittelstandsberatung GmbH (CF-MB) in Düsseldorf.

After two internships in auditing, I wanted to gain experience in an M&A boutique in the next step. After extensive research and analysis of field reports, I finally decided to join CF-MB.

My Experience

From day one I was involved as a full team member and was immediately allowed to participate in the creation of teasers and pitch books as well as in evaluation mandates.

Being fully integrated into the team, the learning curve is very steep and you expand your knowledge day by day. The superiors, with whom a relaxed relationship prevails, take enough time to explain the background of the respective task, so that one also learns a lot in terms of content.

Especially in the area of acquisition financing and company valuation, I have learned a lot. The former is particularly important, as this is what distinguishes CF-MB from many other M&A boutiques. Due to the investment banking past of the managing directors, CF-MB has the chance to gain insight into the financing possibilities of transactions in addition to the generally known M&A process.

Conclusion

All in all, I was very satisfied during my two-month internship at CF-MB and was able to take a lot with me, both professionally and personally. The good atmosphere in the office, combined with the team's willingness to perform, make CF-MB an excellent M&A boutique, which is ideally suited for an internship.

Philip Kulas