Distressed M&A –
M&A-Concepts in the crisis

Are you and your company in a special situation, in a crisis or close to insolvency? You are a mid-sized entrepreneur and your company urgently needs equity capital or you have to sell your company as soon as possible to avoid the threat of insolvency? Do you want to save your life's work and are you looking for a way out of your corporate crisis? No matter what your concern is, CF-MB is at your disposal as an expert in the field of distressed M&A.

If a medium-sized company gets into a crisis, the only thing that usually remains besides a pre-insolvency restructuring procedure is an fire sale of the company or of company shares in order to avert further damage or to generate liquidity. Entrepreneurs who find themselves in such an exceptional situation want one thing above all: to save what can be saved. We at CF-MB have already successfully handled numerous distressed M&A transactions and, thanks to our long-standing investment banking background, have the necessary experience in advising companies facing complex and difficult challenges. It is our personal goal to provide you with the best possible offer from a financial and social point of view (e.g. no layoffs/ short-time work of your employees). We are aware that your life's work is at stake. Therefore, we do our best to protect it. We know that the planning and implementation of distressed M&A transactions requires a high degree of prudence, consistency and speed, as the timeframe is usually only a few weeks. Consequently, we use all the channels of our international network, which gives us direct access to the decision-makers, so that no valuable time is lost in approaching investors.

Our service modules at a glance:

• Support for companies in crisis or insolvency, investors and insolvency administrators in distressed M&A transactions
• ACTUAL analysis to identify value drivers and weaknesses
• Preparation of an individual action plan based on our ACTUAL analysis
• Creation of all relevant process documents
• Objective assessment of potential investors
• Preparation and coordination of the entire due diligence
• Implementation and structuring of the entire purchase or sale process
• Value optimization through international network of decision makers
• Identification and approach of potential target companies for investors interested in buying

In insolvency, we support transactions both as classic, transferring restructuring by way of an asset deal and as part of insolvency plan proceedings by way of a share deal. Our experience has shown that a clear strategy is the key to a successful transaction. Sufficient financing of the insolvency plan and further business operations with the involvement of additional investors is an important factor. In order to provide the best possible assistance to the crisis-ridden companies we support and to the shareholders who wish to sell their shares, we recommend that an open-ended transaction process be structured. In concrete terms, this means that in addition to a share deal, we will also prepare an asset deal as an alternative scenario for you (so-called dual track). No matter what the complex situation, our strategy is always based on a tailor-made and value-maximizing approach for all stakeholders.

In addition to the classic sales process, we support medium-sized companies, financial investors, investment companies and family offices that are considering acquiring companies in special situations. We structure the entire sales process from the search for the right takeover candidate, the establishment of contacts via our extensive network, the support of the due diligence, the valuation of the crisis company to the signing and closing of the transaction. We also support insolvency administrators and trustees in the execution of structured and time-consuming M&A processes.

If you are in a crisis situation and need professional support at short notice to avert insolvency or are looking for a crisis company yourself to expand your portfolio, please contact us.

Your advantages at a glance:

• Extensive M&A project knowledge in crisis situations
• Extensive expertise in complex transaction processes thanks to many years of investment banking experience
• High speed due to necessary operational support and contribution of operational restructuring expertise
• Development of a precisely fitting