The market
Why look for acquisition targets in the German Mittelstand?
Because a large number of owner-managed companies will change hands in the coming years, and many of their owners have not yet spoken to a buyer or an adviser. According to KfW Research (press release of 9 January 2026), 57 per cent of owners of small and medium-sized companies in Germany were 55 or older in 2025, compared with 20 per cent twenty years earlier, and 545,000 companies intend to settle their succession by the end of 2029. The IfM Bonn (Daten und Fakten No. 37, 2025) estimates that around 186,000 companies will be up for handover between 2026 and 2030.
These are estimates, not a list of companies for sale. They explain why a conversation about the future of the company is relevant to many owners.
The gap
Why do many of these companies stay off the market?
Because a sale process starts only once an owner has decided to sell and hired an adviser. Marketplace listings and intermediaries' teasers show the part of the market that has already come forward, and your competitors see them on the same day.
Many other owners appear in the registers but on no deal list. Reaching them takes a complete market map, a reason for each approach and someone who calls every week in German. That is the work we take on.
The method
How does Signalakquise build the target list?
From the whole market, not from a purchased database. We translate your investment criteria into fields that can be checked and count every company in Germany that meets them:
- Legal form, register status, registered office and region
- Shareholders and stakes, group affiliation and investors among the shareholders
- Age of owner and managing directors, successor in management
- Revenue, headcount, earnings and equity from the filed annual accounts
- Industry by German WZ code (based on NACE) and website activity, checked by hand
The result is a map of your niche with owner, management and figures. You approve it before the first message goes out.
The timing
Which public signals point to succession or sale?
Dated events in public sources: 14 of the 76 signals in our library, each with a source and a window. A signal is a reason to ask, not proof of an intention to sell.
| Signal (German term) | Group | Public source | Window | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | Change of managing director (Wechsel in der Geschäftsführung) | Management and shareholders | commercial register, change notice | 120 days |
| 05 | New Prokura (statutory signing authority) granted (Neue Prokura erteilt) | Management and shareholders | commercial register | 90 days |
| 14 | New advisory or supervisory board (Beirat oder Aufsichtsrat neu besetzt) | Management and shareholders | commercial register, Federal Gazette | 120 days |
| 16 | Change of shareholder (Gesellschafterwechsel) | Management and shareholders | commercial register | 180 days |
| 18 | Annual accounts show a jump in revenue (Jahresabschluss mit Umsatzsprung) | Financials and structure | company register (filed accounts) | 12 months |
| 19 | Annual accounts show a sharp decline (Jahresabschluss mit Einbruch) | Financials and structure | company register (filed accounts) | 12 months |
| 15 | Capital increase (Kapitalerhöhung) | Financials and structure | commercial register, Federal Gazette | 180 days |
| 20 | First consolidated accounts (Erstmals Konzernabschluss) | Financials and structure | company register (filed accounts) | 12 months |
| 21 | Change of legal form (Rechtsformwechsel) | Financials and structure | commercial register | 180 days |
| 24 | Liquidation of a subsidiary (Liquidation einer Tochter) | Financials and structure | commercial register | 120 days |
| 70 | A competitor was acquired (Wettbewerber wurde übernommen) | Market and competition | trade press, Federal Gazette | 120 days |
| 39 | Acquisition of a competitor (Übernahme eines Wettbewerbers) | Market and competition | Federal Gazette, trade press | 180 days |
| 40 | Merger announced (Zusammenschluss angekündigt) | Market and competition | trade press | 180 days |
| 74 | Sector consolidation reported (Branchenkonsolidierung gemeldet) | Market and competition | trade press | 180 days |
The same selection with German wording: Nachfolge- und Verkaufssignale (in German). All 76 signals: signal library (in German).
The language
Why does owner outreach have to be in German?
Because an owner decides quickly whether a message is meant for them. A long-standing owner is likely to read an English email from an unknown fund as a mass mailing. A German message that names an event the owner published, such as new annual accounts or a change in management, reads as a question from someone who has done the work.
The call follows the email, refers to the same event and asks about plans, not price. If nobody in your deal team speaks German, tell us before the start, so the first meeting can be planned accordingly.
The outreach
How does the outreach run, and in whose name?
In your name, in a fixed order. Each week we select 50 to 100 companies with a current signal and approach the owners:
Sender, domain and signature are yours; you approve the texts. Each company on your list is blocked for other clients and checked against your CRM and exclusion list. Owners who decline are not approached again.
The evidence
What has this approach delivered so far?
The published case is a German M&A advisory, not an investor. For CAPVIA Corporate Finance we approached owner-managed companies with EBITDA from €500,000, owners aged 58 or over, no successor in management and no financial investor among the shareholders. New annual accounts, register changes and the sale of a competitor provided the reasons. An investor's profile differs; the approach to the owner is the same.
CAPVIA Corporate Finance, M&A advisory, Germany. Period: 12 months. Figures as published in the CAPVIA case study (in German), as of 11 November 2026. Success fees are the advisory fees from the completed company sales.
Read more
Where can you find more detail?
Our pages for M&A and investors are in German: overview, deal sourcing for private equity, finding acquisition targets, the selection mechanism and the working process.
Frequently asked questions
What international investors ask us.
Do you work with investors based outside Germany?
Yes. We work with you in English; the outreach to owners runs in German, in your name.
Are you a broker or an M&A adviser?
No. We arrange conversations with owners. Valuation, negotiation, due diligence and the legal and tax work stay with you and your advisers.
Will another client approach the same companies?
No. Each company on your list is blocked for other clients. Before every selection we also check against your CRM and your exclusion list.
How are you paid?
Success based: you pay only for meetings that took place and meet the criteria agreed before the start. We discuss the terms for your firm in the first call.
How long until the first message goes out?
Around three weeks: building the market map, preparing the mailboxes and approving the texts.
Niklas Rabanus · Founder, Signalakquise · As of 11 November 2026 · Your contact
