Corporate.
Many of our clients are entrepreneurs: we advise them on M&A matters including buy, hold or sell decisions.
We offer our expertise, experience and network to successfully close corporate finance transactions. We have a proven track-record of successfully closing deals, on which our clients will testify that we took their best interest to heart at every step of the decision-making process. We offer expert guidance on strategic decisions to maximize value, including whether to hold or sell assets. We put no pressure onto clients to execute transactions: our relationship is for the (very) long term, and we do not hesitate to advise clients to wait for optimal market conditions for improved value creation.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Comprehensive support in executing mergers and acquisitions, including direct private equity (PE) acquisitions, co-investments and secondary transactions. Our colleagues have the experience in running full-blown M&A processes, both on the sell-side as on the buy-side.
Add-on opportunities
Identification and evaluation of strategic add-on opportunities to enhance growth and value of your family company. Our team has a comprehensive experience running such processes on a pan-European basis, and towards the USA. Past projects include a search in the Benelux for HR services, a search towards France for a partner in HR Tech, engineering services and audit, retail, e-commerce, a pan-European search in the food sector, etc. We leverage an extensive network of advisors and we also reach out to entrepreneurs directly to generate exploratory discussions outside of auction situations.
Restructurings
Expertise in restructuring initiatives to optimize financial and operational performance. During their life, corporates go through ups and downs, which requires entrepreneurs to take strategic decisions: our team can support you towards balance sheet management, finding the right equity or debt partners, or restructuring the operations.
Understanding your long-term goals is a stepping stone for succesful M&A
01
Respecting your timeframe
Every entrepreneur situation is different: we take the time to scope the best options for the future, taking the next generations into the equation.
02
Aiming for success
Running a successful corporate finance process requires specialist experience, a network of advisors who can contribute to the process, and the team’s drive to find the best solution to defend our client’s interests.
03
Managing your liquidity event
We are uniquely equipped to manage liquidity events for entrepreneurs, offering strategic allocation of proceeds and proactive cash flow planning in anticipation of an acquisition.
“After an investment bank advised us to sell, Portolani listened to our objectives and helped restructure our business to de-risk part of our wealth while continuing operations.”
Benefit from our
economies of scale
Working with us means joining forces with other high-net-worth families. By federating the investment power of these families, our clients can subscribe to liquid funds in our selection at favourable conditions. The federation of wealth is especially interesting for your illiquid investment portfolios (private markets). The minimum required investments in these funds can be too high to allow for a diversified illiquid investment portfolio.
We set up specific Belgian feeders that allow our clients to decide to invest in some or all of the illiquid funds proposed by the selected managers, for the amount they determine, and jointly subscribe to illiquid funds with other families. This way you can invest in multiple managers and build a diversified portfolio with several yearly allocations.
Frequently asked
questions.
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We have completed fund raisings, mergers, acquisitions, sales, asset swaps, restructurings, debt financings and coinvestments on behalf of our clients.
- Our understanding of our clients’ wealth and personal/family ambitions is a key asset to successfully run M&A processes and manage appropriate timelines,
- The seamless integration of personal wealth and M&A enables us to advise clients in a holistic manner,
- We work at the crossroads between PE funds allocation and M&A: therefore we close secondary transactions on a regular basis, generating immediate value uplift to our clients.
Most of our mandates involve specific clients: either clients ask us to advise them on their transaction opportunities, or we proactively propose add-ons that fit their family companies. Below you can find some of our latest transactions:
- Restructuring of the capital of a family-owned real estate-company,
- Direct secondary transaction from a French family office,
- Bridge financing by a client to a single-family office,
- Direct secondary transaction from a German family office,
- Acquisition of a food company for our client’s next generation,
- Split the real estate from the operating entity,
- Sale of the operations of a building materials producer to a Private Equity fund,
- Backed an e-commerce entrepreneur during an equity raise, and a merger with a French competitor. After a few years, we have advised our client during the sale of the operations to an industrial acquiror.
We have advised a client to maximise the value of his company by first splitting the real estate from the operations. We then advised the client to sell the operations to a PE fund and to wait 2 years before selling the real estate component due to sub-optimal market conditions. We maximised the exit by approaching potential acquirers during a full-scale exit auction, generating proceeds 60% higher than initially envisioned.
