The Fifth Phase: Retrenchment & Spin-offs: 1995–1996

By 1995, Germany was turning, approximately, its tenth anniversary of LBO activity. Eleven years had passed since Brian Fenwick-Smith acquired VEMAG from Reemtsma, and it was nine years since Schroders bought Jofrika. In that time, many young Germans and ex-pats had cut their teeth on buyouts in the German Mittelstand. Arguably, the worst years were over, and not only had experience been gathered, but a culture of M&A activity, partially provoked by the Treuhand, had spilt over into a nascent concern for shareholder value. Perhaps more significantly, Germany had witnessed some larger buyouts, particularly the joint CWB Capital/Goldman Sachs acquisition of Bran + Luebbe in 1994.