ECHO NOVACapital & Partners Talk in confidence

M&A Advisory

The best buyer is rarely the first to call.
Often it is one you have never met.

We sell owner-run manufacturing companies — typically €20–100 million in revenue — to buyers in Europe and in Asia. One partner leads your sale from the first conversation to the months after closing. A sale usually takes six to twelve months.

Talk to us in confidence How a sale works

Who we sell for

We do one thing: sell manufacturing companies.

Owner-run, typically €20–100 million in revenue, in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Electrification, machinery and materials — with particular depth in lighting.

You want to sell.: All of it, or a majority.
You need a successor.: No one in the family will take over, and you want the company in good hands.
You want a strategic partner.: Someone who brings markets or scale, while you stay on board.
Part of your company, not all of it.: A technology or product line that would do better on its own. Spin-offs

Smaller or larger? We’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit — and if not, who is.

Where your buyers are

Most advisers know the buyers in Europe. We also know the ones in Asia.

Price moves when serious buyers compete. The more of them at the table, the stronger your position.

European companies and investors.: The buyers every good adviser approaches.
Asian groups based in Asia.: Looking for engineering, brands and customers they cannot build at home.
Asian companies already in Europe.: They run sites and teams here, and they buy to grow them.

Few advisers can reach the last two directly. We know them, and we speak their language.

How the price moves

Buyers pay for what your company can become.

Daniel Chua shows each of them what it is worth with Asian sourcing, production and markets behind it. That is what moves the number.

How we pick the right buyer

Not every buyer means to run your company.

Tim Chen has sat on the buyer’s side and chaired the board of a German company under Asian ownership. He can tell who will build on what you made — and who will not.

How a sale works

Five steps. At each one, you decide.

01
A confidential first conversation
What you want, by when, and what matters to you beyond the price. We tell you honestly whether a sale makes sense now — or later.

Your decision
Whether to go ahead.
02
Value and preparation
What your company is worth, and to which kind of buyer. We prepare the documents with you: an anonymous profile, then a full company presentation.

Your decision
The price you will accept, and which buyers we approach — and which never.
03
Approaching buyers
Buyers first see the anonymous profile. Your name follows only after they sign a confidentiality agreement — and only with your approval.

Your decision
Who learns your name.
04
Negotiation
We keep several buyers in play as long as we can. That is what protects your price. Then the terms beyond price: your people, your site, your name.

Your decision
Which offer, on which terms.
05
Signing and after
We stay with you through signing, closing and the first months after.

Your decision
To sign.

Your lawyer and tax adviser stay at the centre. We work with them, not around them.

Confidentiality

Nobody hears your name without your yes.

A code name.: Buyers first see a code name and an anonymous profile — never your company’s name.
Your name, one buyer at a time.: Only after a signed confidentiality agreement, and only with your approval.
Details in stages.: Detailed figures follow step by step, as a buyer’s interest becomes serious.
Your people hear it from you.: You decide when your managers and employees are told. We plan it with you.

Who sees what

Code name and anonymous profile
Every buyer we approach
Your company’s name
After a signed confidentiality agreement — and your yes
Detailed figures
Step by step, as interest becomes serious

The further a buyer goes, the more they see — and the fewer buyers get there.

Beyond the price

The price is one number. The contract decides the rest.

What you care about beyond the price must be written into the contract. Otherwise it is a hope.

Your people and your site.: Commitments on jobs and location, for an agreed time.
Your name.: Whether the company and its brand keep their name.
Your role.: Stay for a handover, stay longer, or step back at closing.
How you are paid.: How much at closing, and how much later.

Who leads your sale

A partner, not a junior team.

One partner leads your sale from start to finish. Tim Chen for most manufacturers, Frédéric Maurer for energy and power grids, Stephan Bosman for data centres. Daniel Chua joins wherever Asia can raise your price.

Meet the partners

Questions owners ask first

What does it cost?

A fixed monthly fee while we work, and a success fee when the sale closes. Most of what we earn depends on your result. We agree everything in writing before we start.

How long does a sale take?

Usually six to twelve months. Good preparation is what keeps it short.

What do you need from me to start?

One conversation. No documents, no commitment.

Will an Asian buyer move my production to Asia?

Some might. That is why we ask every buyer early what they plan for your site — and why commitments go into the contract. Many buy in Europe for what is here: the engineers, the brand, the customers.

Does the government have to approve a sale to an Asian buyer?

Sometimes. Germany and Austria can review purchases by buyers from outside the EU, and in sensitive sectors a sale cannot complete without approval. Switzerland is introducing similar rules for state-controlled foreign buyers. We check early whether this applies to your company and your buyers, build it into the timetable with your lawyer, and make sure the contract covers what happens if approval takes longer. Tim Chen has been through these approvals himself — in Germany, at EU level, and the approval an Asian buyer needs from its own government to invest abroad. That way the best offer is also one that can close.

Do you also advise buyers?

In other deals, yes. In yours, we act only for you. If we know a buyer from earlier work, you hear it from us first. If a buyer asks for our help after closing, you will know before you sign.

My company is smaller — or larger — than €20–100 million.

Talk to us anyway. We’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit — and if not, who is.

Do you work with my lawyer and tax adviser?

Yes, from the start. They know you and your company. We bring the buyers and lead the negotiation.

Not ready to sell yet?

Make your company stronger first.

We also help manufacturers source and produce in Asia, or sell their products there. Daniel Chua works on this from Singapore and Shenzhen. When the time to sell comes, a company that already sources or sells in Asia has more to show a buyer.

Talk to us about Asia