German Public Auditors Christian Gerber and Sascha Weiß of I-ADVISE AG interviewed by Michael Hedtstück, Chief-Editor of Finance and Finance TV, on the current discussion of a reform of German inheritance tax rules and possible consequences for CFOs of German family-owned businesses concerning valuation and financing.

http://www.finance-magazin.de/bilanzierung-controlling/steuern/familienunternehmen-cfos-fuerchten-neue-erbschaftsteuer/

January 1, 2015: Arcaris Management GmbH completed the acquisition of Rubo Fenster GmbH & Co. KG, Porta Westfalica, together with investors and Rubo’s new managing director Carsten Winkler.

Founded in 1991 by Wilfried Held the company supplies window manufacturers with finished and semi-finished special elements made of UPVC. With its product range Rubo is an established and sought after partner for the window manufacturing industry. With the acquisition by Arcaris the business succession of Rubo has been secured.

„For me it was important that the company will continue to be managed in a responsible, sustainable and proficient way”, Wilfried Held commented his decision for the investor Arcaris and continues: „The combination of the mid-cap equity specialist Arcaris and the industry experience of Carsten Winkler offers optimum conditions for Rubo’s future growth.

Arcaris Management GmbH represents a network of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial families with long-term investments in the German mid-cap market, focussing on established and profitable businesses. Arcaris supports particularly in business succession situations with a unique combination of independent long-term capital and own management resources. The financial and tax due diligence team of I-ADVISE team supported Arcaris Management GmbH in the due diligence phase.

I-ADVISE AG specializes in transaction advisory and valuation services and is part of an international network of consulting firms. For further information please visit www.i-advise.de.

Düsseldorf, 01.02.2015: I-ADVISE continues its growth in valuation services and complements the valuation services team supervised by Dr. Jochen Beumer with Christian Gerber.

Effective 1 February I-ADVISE hired Christian Gerber, a well-renowned expert in the field of valuation service. Christian qualified as German public accountant (Wirtschaftsprüfer), Certified Valuation Analyst and Chartered Financial Analyst. He demonstrates his experience as a professional advisor with an impressive track record of successfully realized projects for financial sponsors, listed groups and middle-market, family-run businesses. Christian is a speaker at the Society of Tax Consultants and their regional associations covering topics in the area of valuation of large conglomerates and of SMEs. Christian is a member of the board of CFA Society Germany e.V.

„We are very happy to welcome Christian on board as a well-renowned valuation expert“, so Dr. Jochen Beumer, Head of Valuation Services of I-ADVISE.

I-ADVISE specializes in transaction advisory and valuation services. I-ADVISE is part of an international network of independent consulting firms. For further information please visit www.i-advise.de.

As part of the scholarship program ProTalent, I-ADVISE AG awards sponsorships to students at the Chair of International Accounting (IUR) at the Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster (WWU).

ProTalent is a scholarship program of WWU based on the German national scholarship program introduced by German government in 2011. The scholarship program of WWU is designed to support excellent students and to support education of young professionals. Frequent and regular contact and exchange of students with sponsors facilitate access to professional work experience.

Thanks to an improved financial independence sponsored students can focus on their studies and much better develop skills based on their talents.

Frank Berg, Partner of I-ADVISE AG, enthusiastically explains the commitment to the ProTalent scholarship program: „Sponsoring excellent performance and capabilities not only expresses our appreciation for talented and motivated students. We as a firm rate our role as sponsor as an excellent means to enter into exchange and discussion with tomorrow’s high performers. As a professional services firm we highly value quality and excellence not only in our work but also on the part of our employees. Participating in the scholarship program thus represents a consequent investment in the future success of our firm.“

I-ADVISE specializes in transaction advisory and valuation services with offices in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt and is part of an international network of international consultancy firms. For further information please visit www.i-advise.de

I-ADVISE AG expands its international network by establishing a cooperation agreement with Stout Risius Ross Inc. (“SRR”), Michigan/USA.

SRR is a U.S.-based global financial advisory firm with 12 offices in the U.S. SRR is specialised in Valuation & Financial Opinions, Dispute Advisory & Forensic Services and Investment Banking. The customer base ranges from privately held companies to Fortune 500 corporations in numerous industries.

Over the last years, SRR has received various awards as top advisor. For the second consecutive year, SRR was recognized as a top-3 fairness opinion advisor in the US and a top-10 advisor globally, according to Thomson Reuter’s M&A Financial Advisory Review.

Dr. Jochen Beumer, head of I-ADVISE valuation services, is very pleased about the partnership with SRR: “Through the cooperation with Stout Risius Ross we are able to perfectly complement our worldwide network of independent advisory firms. In the future, our clients will benefit from SRR’s high professional expertise. At the same time, we are looking forward supporting U.S. clients of Stout Risius Ross in the German-speaking markets.”

I-ADVISE specialises in transaction advisory and valuation services. I-ADVISE is part of an international network of consulting firms, which, if necessary, can complement the project teams in cross border transactions and valuation projects. The I-ADVISE network currently comprises cooperation partners in 10 countries worldwide.

For further information please visit www.i-advise.de.

With effective date 1 October 2014 MVV Energie acquired Hanover-based project developer Windwärts.

Through this transaction MVV Energie intends to further strengthen its position in the renewable energies market by covering the entire value chain from project development via plant operation through to electricity marketing. Subsequent to the transaction, Mannheim-based MVV Energie expects to be uniquely positioned in Germany´s renewable energy market.

Windwärts was founded in 1994. Since then the project developer for on-shore wind parks planned and built a total of 144 wind turbine projects. In the past operations were focused in Northern Germany. The takeover was influenced by company’s insolvency. Windwärts filed for insolvency in May 2014 after suffering liquidity constraints due to delays realising certain wind power projects.

Dr. Georg Müller, CEO of MVV Energie AG, commented: ‘’Once restructuring is successfully complete, Windwärts will be an ideal partner for us in boosting our leading role in converting the energy system and participating in renewable energies growth’’.

I-ADVISE supported MVV Energie together with its French cooperation partner 8Advisory, Paris, in the financial due diligence, in the valuation and the purchase price determination of Windwärts operations in Germany and France. Furthermore I-ADVISE assisted MVV Energie with the purchase agreement and the purchase price allocation (PPA).

I-ADVISE specialises in transaction advisory and valuation services. I-ADVISE is part of an international network of consulting firms, which, if necessary, can complement the project teams in cross border transactions and valuation projects.

In July 2014 GFKL Financial Services AG acquired software specialist intratech GmbH, Pulheim.

The objective of GFKL‘s strategic investment is to support clients already at an early stage with their administrative processes as well as strengthening GFKL’s position as BPO-specialist in receivables management.

GFKL is a leading provider of receivables management. GFKL’s 1300 employees in Germany and Spain are servicing receivables worth about 20.2 billion Euro. The services are directed at clients from business groups, banks, insurance companies, energy suppliers, telecommunication companies, public institutions as well as SMEs. GFKL is competent in every aspect of receivables management and covers all requirements with high demands on quality. The rating agency Standard & Poor’s awarded GFKL with the best servicer-ranking in Germany.

Kamyar Niroumand, CEO GFKL group: “I am convinced there will be a further differentiation in receivables management through the acquisition. In the last months we successfully strengthened our position in the market by organic growth – the expansion of the range of services offered now also ensures further positive development in new segments.”

The financial and tax due diligence team of I-ADVISE team led by WP/StB Frank Sichau supported GFKL in the due diligence phase.

I-ADVISE AG specializes in transaction advisory and valuation services. I-ADVISE AG is part of an international network of consulting firms, which, if necessary, can complement the project teams in cross border transactions and valuation projects. For further information please visit www.i-advise.de.

On April 11, 2014, WILO SE acquired a minority interest in Muenster based iEXERGY. iEXERGY is specialized in developing soft- and hardware for wireless smart home solutions. As a leading innovative company iEXERGY is offered targeted support by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

The venture capital investment followed an only recently concluded strategic partnership in the field of communication of high efficiency pumps with other components in home automation systems. Customers will – at the same time – enjoy maximum convenience and significant cost savings by an intelligent automation system for lighting, entertainment, security and energy consumption.

„The cooperation with our new partner is a reflex of our strategy. WILO not only offers pumps, but focuses on the broader picture. A further step to increase our system competence,” explains Oliver Hermes, CEO of WILO group.

With its 7,000 employees WILO SE generated revenues of 1.2 billion Euro in 2013 and is a globally leading manufacturer of pumps and pump systems for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, water supply and waste water disposal.

The financial and tax due diligence team of I-ADVISE team led by certified public accountant Frank Berg supported WILO SE in the due diligence phase and in contract negotiations.

I-ADVISE AG specializes in transaction advisory and valuation services. I-ADVISE AG is part of an international network of consulting firms, which can complement project teams in cross border transactions and valuation projects.

The update of the study on valuations required by German law (first release in September 2013) has been extended by expert opinions with valuation dates in 2013. Analysed were respective valuation and audit reports with valuation dates in the period from 2010 to 2013.

The updated study on valuations required by German law highlights current trends and provides an overview of valuation principles and parameters applied regarding squeeze-outs, domination and profit and loss transfer agreements as well as mergers in the period from 2010 to 2013. “The divergence of market risk premiums in recent valuations is quite interesting and may indicate a tendency to lower market risk premiums.” states Dr. Jochen Beumer, partner Valuation Services at I-ADVISE AG.To download the study click here.

Further information can be found here: German Private Equity Conference