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

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/

from University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA, USA & Berlin, Germany
from Rheinische Friedrich in Berlin, Deutschland