Equity Business Breakfast: Company Sale, Exit - How to stand out in an (over)supplied regional market?
This Equity Breakfast edition brought together founders and international M&A experts for a first-hand, coffee-side discussion on how to navigate succession and exit decisions and stand out in an increasingly competitive international company sale market.
This edition of the Equity Breakfast was a small, invitation-only event focusing on company sales, succession and exit challenges in the CEE region, drawing on practical domestic and international M&A experience. The discussion explored how companies could prepare effectively for a transaction, compete in an increasingly crowded international market, and position themselves as attractive targets for strategic buyers, through informal, interactive conversations with international experts in Hungarian and English.
Our esteemed guests
Covered topics
- Company succession and exit challenges: what are the key regional characteristics and trends in CEE, and what factors drive company sales and exits? How intense is the competition, and what are other sellers doing well?
- International benchmarks and lessons learned: what do global market experiences and best-practice benchmarks show?
- Selling to a strategic buyer abroad: what challenges should we expect when searching for an international strategic buyer? How can a Hungarian or CEE company become attractive to an international buyer-especially in markets like Germany or Switzerland?
- Standing out in an oversupplied market: how can you compete successfully in a crowded international sell-side market? What are the baseline buyer expectations, and what truly differentiates a company in an M&A process?
- Alternative exit routes: what other exit options should founders consider if a strategic buyer is not the best path?
- Preparation to maximize company value: how should you prepare your business for succession and an exit to maximize valuation and deal outcomes?
Agenda
Arrival, registration, welcome coffee, breakfast, networking
8:30 - 9:00
Topic introduction – succession challenges and selling a company in the international market
Tens of thousands of companies across the CEE region are facing succession challenges and are considering a company sale, with many looking to international markets for a strategic buyer.
Lenard Horgos – partner, Absolvo
Presentation language: Hungarian
9:00 - 9:10
Succession and exit trends and challenges in the region – we are not alone
How critical are succession and exit today, and what are the key regional trends? What motivates companies to pursue an exit, how do they prepare, what expectations do they have, and how do they approach international buyers? First-hand insights from the Slovak and Romanian markets.
Peter Kolesar – board member, AmCham Slovakia (SK)
Daniel Iovescu – partner, ABA Management (RO)
Discussion language: English, with a short summary in Hungarian at the end
9:10 - 9:35
How to stand out and compete successfully in an oversupplied regional market?
How can you prepare your company for a sale or exit while maximizing company value?
International buyers often benchmark target companies not only against regional peers but also against global alternatives - so where are your strengths, and where do you need to improve to become an attractive acquisition target?
Our international M&A experts bring German and Swiss perspectives on the most important preparation steps, the need for increased competitiveness, and proven ways to stand out, drawing on extensive experience from international transactions.
Jan Pörschmann – partner, Proventis Partners (Munich)
Christoph Studinka – partner, Proventis Partners (Zurich)
Tamás Horgos – partner, Absolvo
Discussion language: English, with a short summary in Hungarian at the end
9:35 - 10:15
Break and breakfast
10:15 - 10:30
Alternative exit options – beyond a strategic buyer
When and for whom can private equity or an IPO be a relevant alternative exit route?
Istvan Mate-Toth – deputy CEO, Budapest Stock Exchange
Jeno Nieder – deputy CEO, PortfoLion
Discussion language: Hungarian
10:30 - 11:00
Q&A, networking
Participants had the opportunity to ask their questions personally and one on one to our experts and guests during the networking session.
11:00 - 11:30
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