Carlsquare 2011: with 19 transactions in 6th place in the Thomson Reuters ranking for M&A consultants in Germany

Carlsquare can look back on a highly successful 2011:

With 19 transactions in 6th place in the German Thomson Reuters mid-market ranking / with Globalscope partners in 2nd place in the German M&A consultant market

With 19 transactions, Carlsquare was amongst the top 6 corporate finance consultancies in Germany in Thomson Reuters’ mid-market ranking (up to USD 500 million) and in second place as part of the Globalscope network. For us, this reflects our high level of commitment to our clients.

Internationally successful as a part of Globalscope

Operating within the Globalscope network of M&A consultancies has boosted our international business. 9 of the 19 transactions involved an international buyer or seller. We are absolutely convinced that our strong ties within Globalscope will not only enable us to occupy a leading domestic position in the long term, but will also provide us with a truly unique selling point vis-à-vis our clients for international transactions.

Globalscope is a living network. We don’t just work on transactions throughout the year but also meet up every 6 months. It was a pleasure to be able to welcome 30 Globalscope partners from around the world to Berlin recently. It was delightful to see the fascination that Berlin holds for international visitors.

Another indication of our strong commitment to Globalscope was the appointment of Michael Moritz to the Globalscope board at the end of 2011.

Combining forces in Hamburg and Berlin

With offices in Hamburg and Berlin, we benefit from the specific strengths of both cities and combine these to good effect, as demonstrated with the sale of e-book supplier textunes to Thalia. We have been supporting companies from Hamburg for over 10 years and now also from Berlin, advising them on strategic capital measures, especially mergers and acquisitions as well as fund raising.

Family offices as investors

For 3 transactions we were able to either attract or advise family offices as investors. This has reinforced our belief that we are on the right track in trying to expand our network with family offices, which are characterised by their discretion and a long-term outlook. For this reason we joined forces with the Heuking Kühn law office to invite the family offices that we are associated with to the first Family Office Lounge event in the autumn of 2011. We intend to continue this exchange in the future.

Balanced sector mix: manufacturing, service providers, internet, IT/software, cleantech and life sciences.

We were able to assist ORWO net AG (winner of the “Deutscher Gründerpreis”, an award for newly founded companies, and of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award) with obtaining funding from afinum and with the examination of further acquisitions. In the life sciences sector, we were able to assist with the sale of Kinaxo to Evotec and with an investment in Microstim by Genius VC. We are looking for further growth in this sector.
We were involved in five transactions in the internet sector, amongst them the sale of Onlineliebe to the Scottish company Cupid, of Solegro to the Dutch company Leisure Holding, of cooledeals to Qype and of Linguland to Süddeutsche.

In the software sector, we are pleased with the sale of Cynapspro to Natalya Kaspersky/Infowatch and the acquisition of the Dutch company MCH+ by PMCS helpline Group. In fact, we concluded 2 funding rounds for the OLED developer Cynora and thus also made an impact in the cleantech sector. Added to this were several undisclosed transactions in the manufacturing, software and service provision sectors.

16 staff, strong additions

In 2011, we expanded our team to 16 and were fortunate in attracting 2 senior professionals with many years of relevant M&A experience gained at leading audit companies, investment banks and in the corporate M&A sector. As a result we are also in a good position to continue our growth in terms of HR.

Michael Moritz, new Hamburg Regional Chairman of DIE FAMILIENUNTERNEHMER – ASU e.V. association (the family business association)

At the end of 2011, Michael Moritz was elected as the Hamburg Regional Chairman of DIE FAMILIENUNTERNEHMER – ASU e.V. association and will continue to vigorously defend the interests of family businesses. Over the next two years of his time in office he hopes to increase the consideration given to the principles of family businesses, namely, thinking beyond the interests of one’s own generation, the right balance of risk and liability and self-reliance where debt is concerned as well as in politics.

Mark Miller appointed as a member of the investment committee of the Innovationsstarterfonds Hamburg

In 2011, Mark Miller was appointed a member of the investment committee of the Innovationsstarterfonds Hamburg, where he will contribute his experience in technology and corporate financing. Mark Miller has also joined the supervisory board of legodo AG based in Karlsruhe.

Felix Dohna

Felix Dohna joined Carlsquare as a new partner at the beginning of 2011, but sadly passed away in June of the same year. On account of his energy, intelligence and sense of humour his memory will endure far beyond 2011.

Market outlook

We expect Germany to remain an attractive destination for M&A due to its exceptional position within Europe. Interest from our European neighbours, from the USA but also from the emerging economies is sustained and on the increase.

The weak euro is encouraging the acquisition decisions of players from outside Europe, and many investors consider Germany a safe haven with growth potential. Our Globalscope network allows us to seize these transaction opportunities and is also an early indicator of this trend. High leverage through bank funding for financial investors might remain difficult to achieve, but strategic investors with sustainable strategies will continue to ensure that our M&A markets remains active in 2012. We therefore look forward to 2012 with optimism.

With our expanded team, our industry experience, our national network including strategists, financial investors and family offices as well as the international network with Globalscope, we look forward to discussing a potential transaction with you as well.