On March 2nd and 3rd, the Financial Planner Days at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management brought together an exceptional audience of professionals from private banking, wealth management, and financial advisory, and this year, the event was entirely dedicated to M&A. Zerbach & Company was right at the heart of it. Our founding partner Dr. Lars Junc delivered a keynote on company valuation in the M&A context, addressing one of the most consequential questions entrepreneurs and their advisors face: what actually drives company value and what determines the achievable purchase price?
The event's deliberate no-sponsorship format ensures an independent, content-focused exchange, making it one of the most substantive professional development formats in the German-speaking financial advisory community.
Drawing on more than two decades of hands-on experience advising transactions in the € 10 to € 250 million range, Dr. Junc explored the gap between textbook valuation methodology and the realities of mid-market transactions. His presentation tackled questions that matter in practice: How is company value truly created? Where do DCF models and market multiples fall short? And which qualitative factors ultimately move the needle on price? The audience, comprising graduates of the Financial Planner certificate programs, tax advisors, asset managers, and lawyers, engaged actively throughout.
For Zerbach & Company, events like this reflect a core conviction: successful transactions are best achieved through the right combination of advisors working together. Our collaboration with financial planners, tax advisors, and asset managers is central to how we deliver value for our clients. We are delighted to continue playing an active role in shaping formats that raise the quality of advice available to entrepreneurs navigating one of the most significant decisions of their professional lives.
