Goetz Hertz-Eichenrode, HANNOVER Finanz

“We have known the Clearwater International partners in Germany for a long time and the relationship goes back more than a decade. We have always found the firm very professional and reliable, and it is a very established team that is well-known in the market.”

Sector knowledge

“When Clearwater advised us on the recent sale of financial services company IS Group Management its sector knowledge was very important. We knew that Clearwater had done transactions in this sector and that we could leverage their network. This was very important for us as financial services is a sector where you really need to know who the potential buyers could be as the spectrum can be broad. Both ourselves and IS Group also found Clearwater’s advice in helping to structure the deal very helpful too.

“Another very successful deal was the sale of Paper + Design, a producer of decorative table setting products. Clearwater advised us when we originally acquired a majority stake in the business back in 2011, so were in an excellent position to help us sell the business three years later as they knew most of the potential buyers. The subsequent sale to the Duni Group was a very successful exit for us.”

Global reach

“The recent opening of a German office by Clearwater is a very good step and has given the firm much more international reach and shows that Clearwater has the global reach to find the best international buyers. On the sell-side this is particularly important as it is crucial for vendors to show international reach.

“Here in Germany companies are already fairly international in their outlook, especially in more industrial sectors such as the automotive industry where they are following clients. But sometimes the mindset of CEOs of family owned companies isn’t quite as global as it could be due to linguistic and cultural barriers, and that represents a big opportunity for a firm like Clearwater.”

Future

“We certainly expect to continue working with Clearwater. Going forward, we are particularly interested in using your deal origination services more.”

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