Get in touch
Questions about deal origination, or want to discuss your M&A strategy in the DACH middle market? Send us a message — every first conversation is confidential and without obligation.
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Or go straight to SourcingClub
SourcingClub is the operating boutique for systematic deal origination in the DACH Mittelstand. PE investors find proprietary deal flow; owners find the right successor.
- •Proprietary deal flow for PE funds
- •Data-driven target identification
- •Confidential succession solutions
Further reading
Who gets in touch
We work with three groups along the DACH M&A value chain. A short message about which one you belong to is enough for us to judge whether and how we can help.
Private Equity & Family Offices
You are building a platform or hunting for add-ons in a fragmented DACH sector and want proprietary, off-market targets before they reach a competitive auction. Tell us your investment thesis and we will tell you whether we can map the relevant sub-segment and source qualified targets.
Corporates & Strategic Acquirers
You run a Buy-and-Build strategy inside your value chain and need a structured pipeline of acquisition candidates rather than one-off opportunities. We help Corporate Development teams define acquisition profiles and identify owner-managed targets across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Mittelstand Owners
You are considering a succession or a partial sale of your owner-managed company and want a discreet, bilateral conversation rather than a public process. We can introduce you to buyers who genuinely fit — confidentially and without obligation.
What happens after you reach out
You will receive a personal reply, usually within 24 hours — not an automated sequence. There is no call centre and no junior gatekeeper in between: the person who reads your message is the person who would actually run your search. Deal origination in the DACH Mittelstand runs on trust, and that starts with how the first message is answered.
If there is a potential fit, we propose a short, confidential call to understand your investment thesis or your situation as an owner. We are direct about whether we can add value: a focused boutique says no to mandates it cannot serve well rather than promising a 360-degree solution. If a search mandate makes sense, we outline how we would map the relevant sector, identify owner-managed targets, and approach them discreetly.
Everything you share is treated as strictly confidential. We do not forward company details, financials or your identity to third parties without your explicit consent — the same standard of discretion that owner-managed companies in the German-speaking market rightly expect. For background on our methodology, see what deal origination actually involves or read how funds build proprietary deal flow.
Before you reach out
Is my inquiry confidential?
Yes, without exception. Anything you share — company details, financials, your identity or your intentions — is treated with NDA-grade discretion and is never forwarded to a third party without your explicit consent. In the DACH Mittelstand, confidentiality is not a feature; it is the precondition for owner-managed companies to engage in a conversation at all. If you would prefer to sign a mutual NDA before sharing specifics, simply say so in your message.
Who should get in touch?
Three groups, primarily. PE funds and family offices building a platform or sourcing add-ons in a fragmented DACH sector. Corporate Development teams running a Buy-and-Build strategy inside their value chain. And Mittelstand owners weighing a succession or a partial sale who want a discreet, bilateral conversation rather than a public auction. If you are an M&A advisor with a buy-side mandate, you are welcome to reach out as well.
What does a typical engagement look like?
For investors, the core format is a buy-side search mandate. We translate your investment thesis into a defined search field, map the relevant sub-sector completely, approach owners discreetly, and hand over qualified, well-prepared introductions — never a raw longlist. Commercial models usually combine a retainer for the ongoing search with a success fee on completion, scaled to the breadth of the mandate. We are deliberately a focused boutique and decline mandates we cannot serve well.
How is this different from working with a broker?
A broker markets a company that is already for sale, typically inside a competitive auction where several bidders drive the price up. Proprietary deal origination works the other way around: we identify companies that are not on the market and approach their owners directly, with a specific buyer in mind. The result is less competition, more room to negotiate the structure, and — usually — a lower entry multiple.
Do you work outside the DACH region?
Our focus is the German-speaking market: Germany, Austria and Switzerland. International PE funds and corporates looking to source proprietary targets in the DACH Mittelstand are exactly who we are built for — we provide the local market access, the language and the cultural codes that owner-managed transactions run on. We do not run search mandates outside the DACH region.
How quickly will I hear back?
You will receive a personal reply, usually within 24 hours — from someone who has read your message, not an automated sequence. If there is a potential fit, the next step is a short, confidential call with no obligation, so we can both judge quickly whether it makes sense to work together.
What should I include in my first message?
Keep it short. For investors: a sentence on your thesis — target sectors, size range, geography, and whether you are sourcing a platform or add-ons. For owners: roughly what your company does, where it is based, and what you are weighing. You do not need to share financials or company names at this stage; a high-level note is enough for us to judge whether a longer, confidential conversation makes sense.
Tell us about your acquisition strategy
One short message is enough. We will tell you honestly whether and how we can help you source proprietary deals in the DACH middle market.