Abstract:

The number of M&A transactions involving German firms has risen sharply since the mid-1980s. An important influencing factor was the development of the internal market of the European Community. The demand for professional services in the area of M&A also grew in parallel. A professional M&A consulting market first developed in the United States. Through international deals, the professional consultants also found their way to Germany (and to other countries). The banks have various reasons for striving for commissions and intend, or are already doing so, to put together and/or beef up their own M&A teams, in order to fight their way to a market position in this field. in this situation, Infratest carried out an empirical basic study in the subject area of "Mergers and Acquisitions". This primarily involved determining the requirements and wishes of the customer and potential customers and investigating the banks' level of competence in problem-solving in comparison to their competitors. The following methodical aspects of the study will be addressed in this report. Training in and familiarization with the subject Decisions concerning the choice of the survey methods, universe, and the sample. The development of the questionnaire and Measures for the assurance of satisfactory response rate of the difficult target group (senior management). The results then showed that M&A consulting will continue to be an important topic in Germany and that the banks stand a relatively good chance of achieving success in this market. And the report closes with a few thoughts on modifications which could be made, should a new edition of the study appear.