It took just over 10 months from the time owner-manager Jens Haugaard of Mediator A/S approached Business Broker a valuation of the company until Certania Holding GmbH signed a purchase agreement.

This is primarily due to exemplary cooperation between all parties involved, as well as Business Broker extensive knowledge of the TIC industry and large international network within the sector.

"We have all been good at making things happen. We had our documentation in place from the outset, and Business Broker good at managing the process, following up, and creating a good tone and chemistry between us and the buyer," says Jens Haugaard.

TIC and compliance play well together

It wasn't difficult to find an interested buyer either.

"It is an industry with a strong appetite for acquisitions. This allows us to find more candidates and create healthy competition, which can help increase the value of this type of business," add Klaus Termansen and Ulf Steiness from Business Broker, who advised Mediator.

Shortly before the summer vacation 2024, the German investment company Certania Holding GmbH acquired the shares in Mediator.

Certania is well on its way to building a portfolio of companies within testing, inspection and certification (TIC) and sustainability. Mediator, with approximately 20 employees, fits in well here.

Mediator is a consulting company that advises on chemistry, environment, sustainability and dangerous goods across industries. The company focuses on documentation and compliance with legislation in countries around the world.

A new ownership with great synergies

With the new owner, Mediator can continue as before with Jens Haugaard as CEO. But with a number of new synergies and benefits.

"Today, we serve 800 companies and we are 20 employees. Now we are suddenly part of a network of companies with 1,200 employees. Many of them and their customers may have compliance needs that we can provide. And we have customers who, for example, want tests that we can find suppliers for in the group," explains Jens Haugaard.

Mediator had clear expectations of a buyer

In every way, it was the ideal buyer that Business Broker . It was important to Jens Haugaard to find a buyer who wanted to maintain and develop the company.

"I didn't want a buyer type who would just pick what they could use and scrap the rest. Instead, I wanted to find someone who was genuinely interested in building something around sustainability and compliance," says Jens Haugaard.

This meant that a number of leads could be ruled out early in the phase.

"Jens Haugaard was really good at explaining exactly what he expected from a buyer. And with Business Brokers knowledge of the industry, we were able to reach out to our network and explore the possibilities," says Klaus Termansen.

Mandate to find the right buyer

Business Broker many contacts in the TIC industry in Denmark, but especially internationally. About a year ago, Business Broker completed Business Broker similar transaction, in which Baltic Control Group was sold to a French TIC player, Apave. So Business Broker quickly Business Broker a good handful of interested and serious candidates.

"We had a mandate to go far in the negotiations, as Jens Haugaard didn't want to include all the middle bills. So we ran a structured sales process until we had selected two buyers who were willing to pay the price we had initially valued the company at," says Ulf Steiness.

Jens Haugaard was very happy about that.

"Business Broker to the mandate and delivered 100% on what they promised in advance. It saved me time, as I didn't have to deal with all sorts of other potential buyers," he says.

Mediator delivered the documentation in no time

Certania Holding quickly became the first choice, and from there the process went exceptionally smoothly.

"Mediator really demonstrated that they had everything under control. They delivered all documentation lightning fast. It took only three days to set up the electronic data room for due diligence purposes. due diligence. We've never seen anything like it before," says Klaus Termansen, adding with a smile:

"Now Mediator also works daily to ensure that the customers' documentation is in order, so we also keep track of our own documents."

FACTS:
The electronic data room contains the company's confidential core information that the buyer and buyer's advisors want to see before confirming the letter of intent by completing the final transaction.

The electronic data room contains information about financial, commercial, legal and technical/environmental matters. For example, board minutes, employee relations, insurance matters, internal accounts and agreements and commitments with customers and suppliers.

The documents are presented in a highly controlled environment where the system registers the buyer's behavior in relation to documents and data. This means that the seller can rest assured that confidential information can only be viewed by trusted individuals who have already signed a confidentiality agreement.

Read more about Due Diligence here.

MEDIATOR A/S

Certania Holding GmbH
acquired Mediator A/S

Task: Timely change of ownership in consultancy with focus on compliance and sustainability.

Solution: Strategic sale to Certania Holding, building a testing, inspection and certification (TIC) portfolio.

Result: Good synergy with new owner means that Mediator A/S continues as an independent company and with the previous owner as CEO.

Mediator A/S has 20 employees who advise on chemistry, environment, sustainability and dangerous goods with a focus on documentation and compliance.

Business Broker the seller.

Jens Haugaard emphasizes three things:

• Business Broker good at identifying topics within our segment.
• Business Broker good relationships and a positive atmosphere between the parties.
• Klaus and Ulf are very pleasant people to work with and deliver as promised.