Not only capital, but also operational know-how plays an important role in shaping a resilient company – especially in a difficult economic environment.
The resilience of a company encompasses many aspects, depends on many factors – and naturally varies depending on the type of risk the company is faced with. The risks that put a company’s resilience to the test can take many forms:
In addition to the capital investment that is usually required, other success factors are often needed: time and attention from the company’s management – in mid-cap companies, this is often the shareholder in a personal capacity – and experience, for example, in the short-term reorganization of supply chains or the accelerated implementation of replacement investments. Short-term access to special expertise to fill internal know-how gaps is another example of such success factors. In addition, the tools to cope with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements must be developed and filled with life.
Particularly in a difficult economic environment such as the current one, which is characterized by numerous very specific problems such as high energy prices, a shortage of skilled workers, unstable supply chains and Covid-aid that is expiring and thus has to be refinanced, a co-shareholder who is not only financially strong but is also involved in operations can be the right choice for a family-run company. An industrial holding company whose strength – in addition to the necessary financial power – lies in particular in its operational experts with many years of experience in various corporate functions can be an example of such a partner.
This topic is the subject of an article by our managing director Broder Abrahamsen in the magazine “LEBENSWERK” (https://lebenswerk-online.de/), published by the Bundesverband Mergers & Acquisitions e.V. (Federal Association of Mergers & Acquisitions), whose publication organ is the M&A REVIEW, and the German Institute for Corporate Succession.