Who would invest in your company, and when is the right time?
The market for companies like yours moves, with or without you. We show where your industry stands in the investment cycle, what buyers paid recently and which investors are active: evidenced, not assumed.
Your company is not valued in a vacuum. The environment sets the frame.
It determines which buyers exist, what they pay and how much weight they put on quality.
Prepare an exit or succession
Which buyer groups are active, who is consolidating the industry, and is the market window open or closing?
Raise capital
Which investors fund companies of your stage and size, with what ticket and what expectations?
Sharpen your strategy
Who is acquiring in your industry and why? That shows which capabilities make your company interesting to the right buyers.
The environment keeps changing. Whoever measures it regularly sees early when a window opens and can prepare the company in time.
The same company, a different market – a different price
Between a hot and a cold transaction market, millions can easily be at stake. Whoever knows the environment chooses the timing instead of being surprised by the market.
Cycle: In hot markets the multiples of the whole industry rise, in cold ones they fall, regardless of your own performance.
Buyer group: Strategic buyers often pay a different band than financial investors. What matters is who is active right now.
Quality: Cold markets reward quality more and punish weaknesses harder. Good companies still find buyers.
Every industry has its investment cycle
Interest rates, regulation, technology leaps and new buyers drive industries through phases of high and low transaction activity. Where your industry stands determines your room to maneuver.
Click a phase. Illustrative placement, industry chosen freely.
Expansion
The number of deals rises, strategics and private equity build platforms. Multiples pick up.
For sellers: the window opens, buyers compete. Preparing now pays off.
Five building blocks – every statement with a source
The Investor Landscape Analysis is part of our BASE Research. It describes your industry from the investors' point of view. Your company is the occasion, not the subject.
Cycle
Where does the industry stand and what drives it: interest rates, regulation, technology, geopolitics.
Transactions
The most important deals of the last three years, number and volume compared to ten years.
Valuation band
Multiples of comparable transactions, split by strategic buyers and financial investors.
Investor groups
Angels, family offices, venture capital, private equity and strategics: who is active, with what ticket.
Strategic buyers
Who acquires in your industry, why they fit and whether they are active right now or watching.
The environment at a glance
Using the example of an industrial services sector in the German-speaking mid-market.
| Investor group | Activity | Stage and ticket | Observed behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Angels | early stage, under €1m | barely active, the business is too capital-intensive | |
| Family offices | succession, minority and majority | long-term, seek stable returns | |
| Venture Capital | digital business models only | invests in software around the industry, not in the industry | |
| Private Equity | EBITDA from €3m, buy-and-build | more cautious due to financing costs, add-ons for existing platforms | |
| Strategic buyers | majority, regional complement | actively consolidating, buying skilled staff and customer access |
Illustrative example, all figures chosen freely.
The first link in a chain
This is how we work on every new mandate: a conversation at the start to clarify industry and goal. Then the analyses build on each other until it is clear whom we approach.
Investor landscape
Cycle, transactions, valuation band, investor groups, strategic buyers.
Value chain and arenas
Where value is shifting and in which arena your company is interesting to buyers.
Target profiles
Which buyer and investor groups are targets, and which deliberately are not.
Specific candidates
A vetted list with names, rationale and decision per candidate.
Profile and outreach
Per candidate: fit, transaction history, investment thesis, route to approach.
The environment sets the frame for every valuation
In our company valuation, the investor landscape is not one factor among many. It sets the yardstick against which your company is measured.
Peer group and band
The multiples of comparable transactions form the band in which your company is placed.
Adjustment for market conditions
If the anchor comes from older averages, we adjust it for today's position in the cycle.
How much quality counts
In cold markets, good and weak companies lie further apart than in hot ones.
Which band applies
The strategic buyer band only applies if their interest is evidenced. A single buyer's synergies are price, not value.
Learn more: Company valuation · BASE Check
Investors no longer ask whether, but how
AI changes who buys, what gets bought and which questions are asked in due diligence. It shows up first in the investor landscape.
As deep as your decision requires
From a picture of your industry to a vetted list of specific buyers and investors.
Basic analysis
- Position in the cycle with the driving factors
- Transactions of the last three years, ten-year comparison
- Valuation band by buyer type
- Investor groups and strategic buyers
- Workshop with expert panel
- Specific candidates
Strategic evaluation
- Everything from the basic analysis
- Value chain and arenas of your company
- Target profiles: which buyers and investors fit, and which do not
- Workshop with owners, management and an expert panel of our partners
- Roadmap: which capabilities open which buyers
Investor search
- Everything from the strategic evaluation
- Research of specific candidates per target profile
- Vetted list with rationale per candidate
- Profiles of the top candidates with outreach strategy
What business owners want to know about the investor landscape
Do you also value my company in the analysis?
No. The Investor Landscape Analysis describes your industry from the investors' point of view. What that means for your company is answered by the BASE Check and the company valuation. Both build on this analysis.
Where does the data come from?
From transaction databases, studies, multiple surveys and press releases. Every statement carries source, quality and date. What no source supports, we leave open instead of estimating it.
How often should the landscape be reviewed?
Before every major decision and roughly annually in moving markets. We update the analysis instead of starting anew. That makes visible how the landscape changes.
Which variant suits me?
For a picture of your industry, the basic analysis is enough. If you want to know which buyers fit your company and how to become more interesting to them, the strategic evaluation is right. If a transaction is coming up, the investor search takes you through to outreach.
Will anyone be contacted?
No. Without your approval we do not approach any buyer or investor. The analysis stays confidential.
Where does the market stand for your company?
In a non-binding intro call we clarify industry, occasion and which analysis fits your situation.
Schedule an intro call