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Search funds in the DACH region: the numbers for 2026

How many search funds there are in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, how long a search takes, why deals fail and how they are financed. With sources.

A search fund buys exactly one company, and the searcher then runs it as its CEO. In the DACH region the model is still young, but it is growing. We read the current studies and statistics and collected here what they say about the search, the purchase and succession. The sources are listed at the end.

How many search funds there are

In its 2026 study, IESE Business School counts 492 search funds in 48 countries outside the United States and Canada, with data to the end of 2025. 216 of them have bought a company. Europe accounts for 291 funds and 135 acquisitions.

Germany has 32 funds and 14 acquisitions, Austria 4 and 2, Switzerland 3 and 1. In the 2024 study Germany still stood at 20 funds and 10 acquisitions. In 2025, for the first time, more search funds launched outside North America than in the United States and Canada, 82 in all.

How long a search takes

From launch to closing takes a median of 21 months (IESE 2026). For the DACH region, a 2023 study by Zeppelin University puts it at about 26 months.

In that time the average searcher looks at more than 3,000 companies, talks to 159 owners and signs about four letters of intent (IESE 2024). Searchers mostly find their deals themselves. On a scale from 1 (never used) to 5 (used exclusively), their own exploration scores 4.0 and brokers 3.3 (IESE 2026).

Why deals fail

Not every letter of intent leads to a purchase. When one fails, searchers most often name findings from due diligence (59 percent), followed by valuation (41 percent), a seller who withdrew (32 percent) and investors who declined (31 percent). A deal can have several reasons (IESE 2026).

What gets bought

Searchers in the DACH region buy smaller companies than elsewhere. The Zeppelin University study gives an average of about €6m in revenue, €2m EBITDA and 24 employees. The price was about €12m, or 4.6 times EBITDA. Internationally, the median deal cost $12m at $8m in revenue, 5.7 times EBITDA (IESE 2026).

How deals are financed

A purchase is usually paid for with the investors' equity, a bank loan and a vendor loan. In the DACH region investors put up about a third of the price (Zeppelin University 2023), in Europe 46 percent on average (IESE 2026).

A vendor loan usually covers 10 to 20 percent of the price. If it runs ten years or longer, is subordinated and takes no collateral from the company, banks count it as equity (IHK Nord Westfalen). Guarantee banks secure part of the loan. Bürgschaftsbank Hamburg, for example, covers up to 80 percent of a loss, at most €2m per borrower.

The succession gap

According to KfW's succession monitor of January 2026, the owners of 545,000 German SMEs want to hand over their firm by the end of 2029. The owners of 569,000 firms plan to close theirs instead. That makes planned closures outnumber planned handovers for the first time.

In 2024 the German chambers of commerce advised more owners than ever: 9,636 senior owners, but only 4,016 people interested in taking over a firm (DIHK 2025). Only a small share of these firms is large enough for a search fund. More than half of the owners who want to hand over by 2029 expect at most €500,000 (KfW 2026).

The chambers also say why owners hesitate. 36 percent ask too high a price, 28 percent find it hard to let go, and three quarters seek help only two years before the handover or later (DIHK 2025).

Sources