I am one of Denmark's most experienced M&A advisors in the owner-managed SMB segment, with more than 200 completed transactions behind me and a fundamental understanding of what separates a good deal from a great one.
My journey into the M&A profession began in 2007, when together with Peter Juel-Berg I founded Faqtum Dansk Virksomhedsvurdering – later Faqtum M&A – with the ambition of giving Danish owner-managers access to the same quality of advice otherwise reserved for listed companies. It was an idea that sounded naive at the time, and that has since proven itself right. Today I am co-founder and partner in Dealmaster M&A, which builds on the same fundamental thinking: that the sale of a life's work deserves more than a standard process, and that the SMB owner deserves an advisor who understands not only the numbers but also the man or woman behind them.
What I stand for
My approach to M&A is shaped by a pragmatic fundamentalism about the importance of process. A good transaction is not a lucky strike – it is the result of preparation that has accounted for both the financial realities and the human dynamics that are always in play when a business changes ownership. Especially when the business changing hands is someone's life's work.
I work from three principles that have proven durable through hundreds of negotiations:
- Preparation is negotiation. Most of a sale's success is decided before the first buyer is even contacted. It is about getting the right numbers out, the right story written, and the right preparations made – so that it is the seller's reality, not the buyer's, that becomes the starting point.
- Buyer identification is a discipline. The right buyer is not the one who bids highest on paper. It is the one who can pay, will pay, and can execute. Knowing the difference requires a real network and methodical screening – not a CRM system and a bit of luck.
- The owner-manager perspective is central. The owner-manager who sells almost always has more at stake than money. The employees' future, the name above the door, the relationships with customers and partners – these are the emotional currency hidden inside a transaction, and they often determine whether the deal closes in peace or with scars.
Roles and engagements
Alongside my work as partner in Dealmaster M&A, I am engaged in a number of corporate boards and advisory contexts, including as Chairman of the Board for Whatever A/S. I am an ongoing sounding board for owner-managers facing a generational transfer or a sale – also outside of formal mandates – and it is often in those conversations that I learn most about what the profession is really about.
Where I speak from
My professional foundation is built on the specific. I have valued more than 3,000 Danish companies. I have sat with over 200 owner-managers from the first meeting to the final signature. I have seen where deals run off the track, and I have learned where to bring them back on. That specific experience is what I draw on when I write, speak, or advise – not theoretical models, not benchmarks from a spreadsheet, but hundreds of concrete cases where I have seen what works and what does not.
If you recognize yourself in the above – as an owner-manager facing a sale, a generational transfer, or a new phase in your company's life – let us talk. The first conversation is always no-obligation.