Capitalmind launches in Switzerland with team bolt-on
Pan-European mid-market M&A advisory Capitalmind has launched a base in Switzerland, expanding its on the ground footprint in Europe to five countries.
Formed in 2014 following the merger between France-based Capital Partner and Netherlands-based BlueMind, Capitalmind has grown to a team of 75 like-minded dealmakers operating from offices in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and now Switzerland.
According to the trio at the helm of the firm – Michel Degryck (France), Jan Willem Jonkman (Netherlands) and Ervin Schellenberg (Germany) – the expansion into its fifth market builds on a number of pillars.
First, the “attractive Swiss M&A market”, which according to data from KPMG sees around 400 deals completed on an annual basis, with the market’s deal value hovering at between CHF50 billion and CHF100 billion depending on the number of mega-deals closed in a given year. Data from Refinitiv shows that the mid-market segment – Capitalmind’s main area of focus – accounts for around half of total deal volume, and roughly 30% of total deal value.
Second, Switzerland is an important base for several of Capitalmind’s key sectors, including business services, consumer goods, food & agriculture, healthcare, industrials and telecom, media & telecommunications. The privately-held M&A group works for both companies and family businesses as well as for private equity houses and their portfolio companies.
Bolting-on a hub in Europe’s eighth largest economy meanwhile enhances Capitalmind’s capacity to deliver cross border deals across Western and Northern Europe, with over 60% of the firm’s transactions cross-border according to its own website. For deals outside of its footprint, Capitalmind works with Investec Bank and BlackArch Partners providing for a global network.
A team bolt-on
Leading the charge in Switzerland are Markus Decker and Thomas Ellenberger. Decker previously served Affentranger Associates as a partner, where he led merger & acquisition and corporate finance engagements, mostly in the high-tech industrial segment. Earlier in his career, he worked for M&A advisory firms Alantra and Oaklins, banking giant Deutsche Bank and Big Four firm EY.
Decker brings with him half a dozen of M&A consultants he led at Affentranger Associates. Ellenberger has a background in strategic advice and business development, having previously held executive roles at Rasini Fairway Capital and StepStone (a portfolio company), and serving McKinsey & Company as a consultant.
“We look forward to the intensive international collaboration with our new colleagues, sharing Capitalmind’s commitment to outstanding advice and entrepreneurial spirit” said Decker and Ellenberger, now joint Managing Partners of Zurich-based Capitalmind Switzerland.
In related news, last year among others Alvarez & Marsal and Protiviti touched down in Switzerland.