In this business unit, the focus is on obtaining equity or equity-like financing. Our specialists clarify together with you which equity concept (e.g. selling a majority or minority stake) is suitable for you, who the right equity investors might be and provide you with the optimal preparation and documentation for a successful transaction in a structured process.

With expansion financing and ownership succession (including via a MBO/MBI), it is necessary to structure the equity and debt components individually, to coordinate suitable financers, and to bring them together in a so called “Club”.

We have access to an exceptional network of international financial investors and family offices. A key value-adding factor of our advisory services is our joint development of clear response to the question of which long-term oriented investors or financers may actually match with your interests. Our network also includes so-called Impact Investors who can help you realise a sustainable pivot of your business (along the lines of ESG-criteria) and take advantage of opportunities arising from a more sustainable orientation. 

Our access to family offices is most developed in Germany and Switzerland. This allows us to support our clients in realising efficient and quick equity capital solutions with a partner, who is long-term oriented, who has reasonable return expectations and who might also provide business impulses, including for your sustainability strategy. 

IPONTIX is a leading address for individual mezzanine structures. 

We support you in every step of the purchase or sale of a company: From defining your strategy, under consideration of sustainabillity aspects, over the preparation of the transaction to the conclusion of a contract.

For many medium-sized businesses, the topic Mergers & Acquisitions – often in the context of succession solutions for family-owned companies – is of critical importance. In addition, active, long-term oriented, and strategic purchase mandates are essential components of the growth and portfolio strategies of our clients.

The main topics of our M&A advisory are:

• Advising in company sales
• Advising in company purchases
• Assisting in Management Buy Outs

IPONTIX specialises in finding integrated solutions, i.e. preparing an M&A transaction including the structuring of the necessary financing on the debt and equity sides.

The fi­nanc­ing ex­perts of IPON­TIX sup­port our clients in the de­vel­op­ment and ex­e­cu­tion of tailored debt-​fi­nanc­ing so­lu­tions. We in­clude in such so­lu­tions all fi­nanc­ing in­stru­ments avail­able in­ter­na­tion­al­ly, bank-dependent as well as bank-independent, from the best fi­nanciers in the mar­ket place. The ul­ti­mate goal is the op­ti­mi­sa­tion of the cap­i­tal struc­ture and the cost of cap­i­tal of our clients. This is part of securing long-term success for companies and entrepreneurs.

While the owner and management are concentrated on operating issues, IPONTIX is dealing with the financing. This includes professional documentation as Banking Memorandum and financial model are the showrooms of our clients. We negotiate credit and collateral contracts until the loan is paid out. We take special care about the contractual adequacy of several financing elements and, if necessary, include mezzanine and equity elements.

Debt financing includes the following topics:

• Investment and growth financing
• Acquisition financing
• Project finance 
• Real estate financing
• Balance sheet optimization and debt adequacy operations
• Syndicated financing, club deals
• Corporate bonds and notes as well as personalized debt notes (“Schuldscheindarlehen”)
• Leasing and factoring operations

We advise companies, often over multiple years, to plan and successfully launch their initial public offering (IPO). Additionally, we provide advice to listed companies regarding a wide range of questions involving capital markets. This includes capital increase, private placement e.g. to a fund or a long-term friendly investor like a family office. The latter can play a leading role as, for example, anchor shareholders and impact investors to foster credibility. 

Our expertise and direct access to institutional investors, family offices, specialised law firms and auditors guarantee good conditions for a successful capital market transaction.

Our consulting focuses on:

• IPO process consulting and strategic implications
• Secondary market and private placements both for equity and bonds
• Direct private placements to Family Offices and Private Equity
• Consulting in takeover situations like mandatory or voluntary offerings
• Going Private

Company Valuation

The value of the company is the most important measure in every business decision. It determines the scope for increasing capital as well as the distribution of a company’s shares. As the marginal price – the minimum price that the seller wants to achieve or the maximum price that the buyer is willing to pay – it controls the economic sensibility of a transaction.

Therefore, before taking a decision about various strategic options, it is useful to gain clarity about the value of your own company or the target company. In the case of a Valuation Opinion, we determine this value professionally by market-standard methods (Multiple and Cash Flow method) and based on our results, give strategic recommendations. The Valuation Opinion relies on the financial planning of the considered company and describes in detail the derivation and reasoning of the value through the business model of the company, unique selling points, and the parameters that establish the market environment of the business.

A special case of a company valuation is the so-called Fairness Opinion, which is required for the acquisition of a listed company. The supervisory board of the company for which an acquisition offer was received, releases a statement to their shareholders about whether the offered value (cash or equity capital) can be considered "fair", meaning that it “achieves at a minimum the market value from the view of the capital market at the time of the offer”.

In both cases, sustainability aspects (ESG-criteria) play an increasing role and we consider them accordingly. 

CFO-Support

IPONTIX supports the management and especially the CFO while working on selected corporate finance tasks and projects. We offer the following services:

• Selection of Due Diligence partners and efficient organization and orchestration of a due diligence process
• Opening and management of a virtual data room
• Validation and review of the current financial planning of the company
• Identification of the debt capacity
• Confidential "Pre Sounding" conversations to gauge investor interest
• Consideration of the impact of sustainability aspects and the sustainability strategy on financial choices

With all these services, IPONTIX contributes ample experience and specialised knowledge gained in many transactions. Our clients further value our competence in identifying additional partners for the transaction, like lawyers and tax advisors. We pride ourselves with knowing those people who offer good services for reasonable prices, as cost control is key. 

Alongside our deep knowledge of methods, we also provide additional capacity to efficiently support the CFO and their team in demanding phases.