Germany's "Mittelstand" succession crisis, one of the biggest opportunities for Search Funds in Europe

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May 05, 2025

by an investor from INSEAD in Barcelona, Spain

By the end of 2026, over half a million German businesses will be looking for a successor. Yet, the number of actual takeovers is falling far short of this need, pointing to 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐚𝐩. This is Germany's "Mittelstand" succession crisis — one of the biggest opportunities for Search Funds in Europe. We're excited to share our latest 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲’𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞, where a perfect storm is creating unprecedented opportunities. In our latest blog we explore: - Why Germany's famed "Mittelstand" (SMEs), which represent 99.2% of all businesses and employ 53.6% of the workforce, is facing an existential challenge. - How demographic shifts are creating a trillion-euro handover, as one-third of SME owners are now over 60. - The cultural nuances that make succession particularly challenging in German business culture. Read the full piece on our website: https://moonbasecapital.com/the-case-for-search-funds-in-germany/
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Reply by an investor
from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA, USA & Berlin, Germany
I'm seeking the right investor partner with a hungry appetite for German mittelstand companies, been active in the market for over 30 years with a base in Berlin
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Reply by an investor
from Rheinische Friedrich in Berlin, Deutschland
Could not agree more, and this is why I founded New Mittelstand back in 2017, first with the focus on organic transformation & succession — since 2024 on ETA / Search Funds. Join us here: newmittelstand.org
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