Selling a company means handing over more than a balance sheet. It involves a life's work, employees, customers — and a sum that for most owners is the largest financial event of their lives. All the more important: a clear process, realistic expectations of the company's value, and a partner who negotiates independently on behalf of the seller.
IGCP Capital Partners has been advising entrepreneurs in the DACH region on company and GmbH sales for more than 20 years. With more than 100 completed transactions we know the typical pitfalls — and we remain 100% independent across every phase. We exclusively represent the seller side and work without ties to buyers, banks or investors.
The question of value is the starting point of every sale process. In practice three valuation logics are applied in parallel: net asset value (assets minus liabilities), income value or Discounted Cash Flow (future earnings), and market multiples (comparable transactions in the sector). Each method illuminates a different angle — a robust range only emerges from combining them.
A clear, thorough introduction to the three approaches can be found in What is my company worth?. Important: the market price is not the theoretical value but the amount a specific buyer is willing to pay in a specific situation. A structured process with several bidders typically lifts that market price significantly.
A typical company sale is structured into preparation (valuation, numbers, sale documents), market outreach (long and short list of potential buyers, anonymised teaser, NDA, information memorandum), indicative offers, due diligence, share purchase agreement (SPA) negotiation, and closing. Each phase has its own decision points and risks.
The individual phases, timing and typical stumbling blocks — as well as the role of discretion — are described in The course of a company sale: from preparation to closing.
Tax and legal structuring is coordinated closely with the client's tax advisor and lawyer. IGCP handles commercial negotiation and process management, not tax or legal advice.
If a sale becomes public, the business suffers — employees get nervous, customers hesitate, competitors exploit the uncertainty. Discretion is therefore not a courtesy but protection of enterprise value.
In concrete terms: anonymised short profiles, staged information releases, a secure data room, clear communication rules inside the client company. We only discuss the sale with people who truly need to know — and only to the depth required by the current step.
Strategic buyers and financial investors think differently — and they offer different things. Strategics buy the company because it fits their own market position: higher synergy potential, often a higher price, but also deeper integration with all its consequences for brand, sites and staff. Financial investors buy in order to develop and resell in a few years: more independence, often more flexibility on the seller's role, but typically more sober price negotiations.
A deeper comparison — including who really fits which owner objective — is provided in Strategic buyer or financial investor?. Often the best solution is to sound out both worlds in parallel and let the market decide.
If a sale could become relevant for you, we would be glad to get to know your company in a confidential first conversation.