BCMS Switzerland 2015

REVIEW

M&A TRENDS

This report is based on BCMS Switzerland activities in 2015 only. Therefore the described trends are only indicative.

2015 ANNUAL REVIEW

Simon GregoryManaging DirectorBCMS Switzerland

“We have seen a notable increase in the level of interest by international buyers to acquire Swiss companies”

In our 2015 annual review BCMS Switzerland has demonstrated for the local market what we already knew from our 26 global offices, that international research for potential buyers is relevant for companies of all sizes. Even our smallest deals (companies with a turnover of around 10 million CHF) are of interest to international buyers as long as these buyers are given the opportunity to become informed about the acquisition opportunity.

The international market in the search for acquirers is often overlooked by local M&A firms with this level of turnover. However our access to the details of over 150 million companies worldwide and our comprehensive research capabilities that enables us to identify both local and International buyers for companies of all shapes and sizes demonstrates that sellers must look beyond the local market. International buyers are interested in big deals, however they also show significant interest in smaller companies when given the opportunity to bid for the sellers company.

EUROPE : MAIN INVESTORS IN SWISS SMBs

EUROPE REMAINS THE MAIN POOL OF INTERESTED PARTIES FOR SWISS COMPANIES

SPLIT OF THE INTEREST SMBs

3 Mio - 10 Mio COMPANIES geographic split of interest

“One of our smallest clients secured over 50 ‘Confidentiality Agreements’ from interested parties that were 95% head quartered outside of the local economy, including interest from the US, China, South East Asia as well as across Europe”

Véronique PollacsekHead of OperationsBCMS Switzerland

International Interested Parties

AMERICA: TECH, GEOGRAPHY & SIZE

AMERICA CONFIRMS ITS DYNAMISM AND INTEREST FOR SWISS 10-200 Mio COMPANIES AND HIGH TECH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: Interested Parties split

10 Mio - 200 Mio Swiss Companies

More and more, buyers are interested in technologies, geographies, diversification, and access to markets with high entry costs, instead of focusing on pure size criteria.

One of our local clients gives access to the buyer to over 30 other countries and the buyer has opted to pay a premium given that we had over 30 interested parties, based upon what they could achieve strategically with this acquisition.

2015: ATTRACTIVE SWISS MARKET

SWISS COMPANIES ARE OF HIGH INTEREST :BCMS Corporate identifies an average of 200 relevant potential buyers for every company. The average level of interest has increased to 19,7% (average of 15% in 2014) of them signing an NDA

With 93 deals completed worldwide in 2015, BCMS Corporate recorded one of the most successfull years of its 27 years history

2015: ATTRACTIVE SWISS MARKET

“MADE IN SWITZERLAND” REMAINS A VERY ATTRACTIVE BRAND STATEMENT FOR FOREIGN COMPANIES: 89,6% of the companies interested by our Swiss clients were headquartered abroad. Only 10,4% of the NDAs collected were from Swiss companies despite fully exploring the national market

Our smallest client with 4 million in annual sales, currently has interest from companies based in Japan, US, and Germany because of their access to certain technologies. The potential buyers of this company range in size from 12 bn to 60bn.

AVERAGE 2015 FIGURES PER COMPANY

BCMS GLOBAL SELL-SIDE ADVISOR LEADER

In 2015 BCMS outperformed market in record year for company sales.

Deal activity was particularly intense at the SME end of the market, pointing to a 26% increase in BCMS

own deal volume.

For the second consecutive year in 2015 BCMS was ranked first globally in number of deals completed

by Zephyr – Bureau dan Dijk database

We thank our worldwide clients for their trust

Registered Office in Switzerland: BCMS Switzerland registered as Xilan SA, Avenue de la Harpe 49, Ouchy, 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland www.bcmscorporate.ch

International Headquarters : BCMS Corporate Ltd, Plantagenet House, Kingsclere Park, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 4SW, United Kingdom www.bcms.co.uk

Contact: info@bcms.chCall: +41 21 588 0291

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