M&A
These episodes look at M&A from the founder's side: buying companies, selling companies, and everything that happens between term sheet and signing. Patrick Andrae (HomeToGo) has bought 15 companies for more than 300 million euros, Janet Pawelczyk sold her creator agency MOONGENCY to David Rost's MYTY Group after two and a half years, and Felix Jander consolidated an entire industry with the Arsipa roll-up.
The guests agree on the quality of the target: Patrick Andrae only buys profitable companies, Carlo Schmid considers a bad company worse than none, and Björn Jopen only starts a sale process when current trading is good. On speed they part ways. Felix Jander and Frederik Brandis want to consolidate an industry within five to seven years, while Carlo Schmid and Wolfram Krauss advise buyers to make no big decisions in the first year. And where Oliver Merkel would have sold immediately for a billion in cash, Tim Stracke called off a 300 million dollar acquisition against his board's advice.
The episodes are useful if you are considering a sale and want to know how earn-outs, rollover stakes and confidentiality play out in practice. Equally if you would rather buy a company than start one, whether through a search fund, a roll-up or buy-and-build. And if you want to hear what Tim Schumacher and Kimberly Breuer say about life after the exit.
Start with these episodes
Janet Pawelczyk walks through her sale to MYTY step by step: EBIT of more than 800,000 euros as the basis, a mid seven-figure price, a two-year earn-out and a reinvestment.
Patrick Andrae has bought 15 companies with HomeToGo, including Interhome for 250 million euros, and explains his rule of only acquiring profitable businesses.
Kimberly Breuer merged Likeminded with competitor nilo.health and negotiated the right to sell her own shares as part of the deal.
Felix Jander and Frederik Brandis lay out the roll-up playbook behind Arsipa: picking the industry in a spreadsheet, letters to 900 companies and funding via capital calls.
David Rost sold his agency to Ufenau and has since bought 17 agencies for the MYTY Group; he names the three KPIs and the red flags he checks in every deal.
Carlo Schmid and Wolfram Krauss explain search funds from both sides: search capital, target criteria, multiples and up to 30 percent equity for the searchers.
What you take away from the episodes
- 1
Only buy profitable companies
Patrick Andrae has bought 15 companies at HomeToGo with one rule: only businesses that are already profitable. Only then do you decide yourself how and when to integrate, instead of being forced to chase synergies.
from: The future of travel, the AI bet and life as a listed company - 2
Only start the exit when current trading is good
At FaceAdNet a fully negotiated deal collapsed four months before the sale to Ströer. Björn Jopen therefore recommends a pre-exit check six months ahead and starting the process only when you are on plan.
from: Why buying a company beats founding one - 3
Expect six months of a double life
While selling Presize to Meta, Leon Szeli ran the business by day and negotiated with around 30 lawyers on Meta's side by night. Employees, family and customers were told nothing.
from: Acquired by Meta: six months, 30 lawyers, not a word to anyone - 4
Write letters, not mass emails
For Arsipa, Felix Jander wrote individually researched one-and-a-half-page letters to business owners and got around 700 replies to 900 letters. After about 30 meetings the PowerPoint was dropped.
from: Why 10 out of 10 investments are meant to return their capital - 5
Expect four to seven times profit
With saas.group, Tim Schumacher pays four to seven times profit for small SaaS companies, which works out to one to three times revenue. A company with 3 million in revenue and 600,000 in profit lands roughly at three to five million.
from: The invisible empire: 300M users, 100M ARR and a 300M climate fund - 6
Expect an earn-out and a reinvestment
Because MOONGENCY was only two and a half years old, Janet Pawelczyk received a relatively high two-year earn-out and reinvested part of the price in MYTY. Since then she has needed approval for investments of 150,000 euros or more.
from: A seven-figure exit at 30 and why a million followers can be worthless - 7
The real work starts after the deal
Urban Sports Club bought companies with cash, shares, virtual shares and with or without an earn-out. Moritz Kreppel warns: the deal is work, but the real work begins with integrating the teams.
from: From a Betahaus flex desk to Europe's biggest sports flat rate
Quotes from the episodes
„Und ich bin der festen Überzeugung, dass die Dinge, die einem Energie geben, auch die Dinge sind, in denen man gut ist.““And I'm firmly convinced that the things that give you energy are also the things you're good at.”
„Wir haben vor allen Dingen ein Credo für uns, dass wir generell eigentlich nur Firmen kaufen, die schon profitabel sind.““Above all we have a credo: we generally only buy companies that are already profitable.”
„Also ich würde heute sagen, ich würde viel schneller pivoten.““Today I would say I would pivot much faster.”
„Also am Ende des Tages keine Excel-Liste, sondern hinter jeder dieser Zeilen, wenn du so willst, im Excel, steht ja irgendwie eine Historie von einem Lebenswerk …““At the end of the day it's not a spreadsheet. Behind every one of those rows there's the history of someone's life's work.”
All 18 episodes on m&a
FAQ
How much is a small company worth when you sell it?
According to Tim Schumacher, small SaaS companies have traded for years at four to seven times profit, or one to three times revenue; he calls stock market multiples like 15 times revenue far from reality. Carlo Schmid cites purchase prices of four to six times EBITDA for search funds. David Rost says an agency needs about 3 to 5 million euros in EBITDA to be interesting to a private equity investor as a platform.
How long does it take to sell a company?
For Leon Szeli, selling Presize to Meta took six months under strict secrecy. Janet Pawelczyk met her buyer in August 2024 and signed in December 2024. On the buy side, Patrick Andrae negotiated for a year and a half over Interhome, and Tim Stracke needed nine months before he had bought the nucleus of Chrono24.
What is an earn-out and what should you watch out for?
Part of the purchase price is paid later and depends on targets. Janet Pawelczyk says that in private equity deals like hers not everything is paid out at once; she received a two-year earn-out. Björn Jopen had three-year earn-outs after both of his sales, and both times, he says, the third year was the hardest. Tim Schumacher warns that the deal has to fit your motivation: anyone who agrees to a three-year earn-out while wanting out will face the next burnout after three months.
How do you find a company to buy?
Felix Jander ranked around 80 niche industries in a spreadsheet using three criteria: at least 400 to 500 real targets, solid margins and cash flow, and a stable market. Wolfram Krauss looks for companies with 1.5 to 5 million in EBITDA, a margin around 20 percent and recurring revenue, for example from maintenance contracts. Patrick Andrae says almost all HomeToGo deals were with companies the marketplace had already worked with.