How to find a buyer?

Finding a buyer is a key moment in the transfer of a company. Discover the strategies to implement to find a quality buyer for your company.

How to find a buyer, international business transfer

This is one of the main challenges of the transfer: finding a buyer for your business. Someone as competent as passionate. Ready to acquire your structure at a good price, with the aim of perpetuating its employees and its activities. A rare pearl? With the right strategy, you might just find it.

1. Define the criteria for finding a buyer

First of all, you must define the ideal profile of your buyer. Establish selection criteria by answering the following questions:

Are you looking for an individual or a company to take over your business?
Can the company be taken over by a large group?
By an investment fund? A business angel?
In any case, what would be the consequences?
Who is best placed to grow the business?

What are your company’s future projects: technological innovation, development in a new territory or diversification of its activities?
The answers to these questions will give you a clearer idea of the direction to take and how to find a buyer for your business. You will be able to define if you need a professional in your sector, a company in the same field as yours, with which to associate or a private individual willing to take on a new challenge.
Read also: Business transfer, a challenge for competitiveness

2. Exploiting the selected criteria

There are dedicated platforms that allow you to meet candidates to take over a company. Their experience and professional ambitions are detailed there. Make contact with the people who correspond to your search criteria and present your transfer project. You can also entrust this exploration phase to a firm specialized in business transfers. They will be able to suggest the most interesting profiles from their portfolio of clients.

3. Choosing a buyer for your business

To find a buyer, you need to put several people in competition. Ask each person for their vision for your business. Their goals should intersect with yours. But they don’t have to meet them 100%. Be open to novelty, to the modernization of your activity, to diversification which bring wider perspectives. Think of all the ways to increase turnover and/or keep jobs, according to your priorities.
Read also: entrepreneurs do not prepare their transmission

When you have found the ideal buyer for your structure, think about preparing the transition. Plan the transition, introduce the buyer to your employees and identify the responsibilities of each person.
Are you planning to transfer a company? Contact Actoria’s experts who will help you find the best buyer.

FAQ

What services does Actoria provide?
Actoria specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory for small and mid-sized businesses. Our services include company sales, succession planning, buy-side and sell-side mandates, business valuation, financial diagnostics, investor sourcing, negotiation support and full transaction execution until closing.

Who does Actoria work with?
We support SME owners, family-business leaders, shareholders, entrepreneurs, private investors, and corporate groups seeking to acquire or divest businesses in Europe and North Africa.

In which countries does Actoria operate?
Actoria has local teams in Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Morocco and Tunisia, and manages cross-border deals across Europe, Africa and the Middle East through an international buyer network.

How many potential buyers are in Actoria’s network?
Our proprietary network includes more than 6,500 qualified industrial buyers, strategic acquirers and financial investors, allowing us to match sellers with high-quality counterparties.

Does Actoria support confidential business sales?
Yes. Confidentiality is fundamental to our process. All discussions, documentation and buyer approaches are handled discreetly to protect the interests of the seller and the business.

What industries does Actoria cover?
We advise companies across multiple sectors, including industrial production, manufacturing, services, IT and digital, healthcare, logistics and distribution, construction, and specialized B2B services.

What is the typical size of businesses Actoria represents?
We primarily advise SMEs with revenues generally ranging from CHF/EUR 2 million to 100 million, depending on jurisdiction and market.

How does Actoria determine the value of a business?
We perform detailed financial and strategic analysis using multiple valuation methods, including discounted cash flows, market multiples, asset-based methods, and sector benchmarking.

How long does a business sale process take?
A standard transaction typically takes 6 to 12 months depending on market conditions, buyer interest, company complexity and diligence requirements.

Why choose Actoria as an M&A advisor?
With over 20 years of experience, a senior advisory team, a structured methodology, and an extensive network of qualified buyers, Actoria delivers independent advice, tailored execution and strong transaction results for SME owners.

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Actoria has swiftly identified the inefficiencies in our company’s processes, proposed optimizations, and implemented them effectively. Furthermore, Actoria has provided outstanding support throughout all stages of our company’s transfer to a group within our industry. This includes preparing our company, identifying potential buyer partners, and negotiating up to the point of the partner’s capital entry. Actoria delivered expert negotiation skills and secured a valuable partner for us.

Sylvain LibherTriplast

We were quite anxious to find a solution, as my health was deteriorating rapidly. Actoria’s consultant played a crucial role in the successful completion of my company’s sale. Their involvement was essential in executing this delicate project, as it impacted our daily operations. This project, which was close to my heart and increasingly necessary, was made possible thanks to the decisive momentum provided by Actoria.

Olivier de BellevueBrehm

First, Actoria conducted a thorough assessment of our company’s strengths and weaknesses, and then suggested incorporating these insights into our management approach to enhance our company’s value. Actoria led this project alongside my entire management team, enabling the involvement of all key personnel, and swiftly implementing a solution that allowed an investor to enter our capital. This was complemented by the inclusion of some of my company’s executives and a bank.

Romuald SoblesseKaufmann SA

I couldn’t be happier with the result, but I am especially pleased with my decision to work with Actoria. The success of this mission was the direct result of Actoria’s hard work and sophisticated professionalism on my business. From our first meeting through the reasonable preparation process, all phases of the transfer, legal and financial operations were managed by the Actoria team. Their skills were even more evident when the complexities of this transaction were at its peak.

Hervé RoduitOmega Group

Hiring Actoria made the difference to achieve my original goal and move on to my next professional challenge. Selling a company like AMR in this market has not been an easy task. Actoria has demonstrated perseverance in identifying good buyers with knowledge of my industry in order to continue the development of my business, and has provided professional advice throughout the process.

Nicolas RafaleAMR SA

The company’s sales process was a lengthy and challenging journey. The professional support from Actoria made this endeavor much more manageable. I would like to extend special thanks to the consultants from Switzerland and France for their highly effective collaboration. Your consultants proposed creative solutions during the negotiations, which effectively overcame significant obstacles in order to finalize the agreement. Their experience, knowledge, and professionalism played a crucial role in the success of this transaction.

Gilbert SibersteinGroupe Janvic

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The group in short :

Every year More than 30 successfull transactions with 20 Senior Consultants and Partners On companies with 5 to 100 employees With a turnover of 1 to 100 Million

We are located in many countries in Europe and Africa to provide access to foreign buyers/investors:

ACTORIA Swiss ACTORIA Morocco ACTORIA Belgium ACTORIA Spain ACTORIA Luxembourg ACTORIA France ACTORIA Italy ACTORIA Tunisia

The question of selling a business in Europe arises sooner or later. How to find the right buyer in Europe ? How to successfully transfer my business in Europe ? When you want to hand the hand-over to a successor , buyer, buyer or investor , the terms used are various: delivery company Europe, sale company, sale company Europe, sale small business in Europe. Whatever the terms used for the sale of your company in Europe, you can put your company on a list of companies for sale in Europe, a business exchange, or seek advice from a fusacq, a specialist in business transfer in Europe. With him you can think about the best buyer: family, employee , investment fund, external buyer. Sometimes it can offer you other solutions such as a getting closer to a company, a merging or establishing an alliance with another European company.

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