Corporate M&A Manager
This vacancy has been filled. Go to the Aareon brandpage
Requirements*
- Master’s degree
- 5+ years of experience in finance or accounting
- Strong financial modeling skills
- Fluent in English
* Research shows that while male candidates feel confident enough to apply when they meet about 60% of the requirements, female candidates only apply when they tick every box. So if this role has your name on it, but you’re not sure about the criteria, we still want to hear from you.
Download full job spec
Aareon is a leading provider of innovative software solutions for the European real estate sector. Partly owned by Advent International, they’re pursuing an intensive buy and build strategy. The Corporate M&A Manager will lead new deals and M&A strategy activities in this exciting opportunity for a hands-on financial professional to work in private equity M&A.
About Aareon
Aareon a leading pan-European provider of innovative software solutions for the real estate sector. They digitize property management with user-oriented software solutions that automate and connect all stakeholders in the process. Aareon takes a collaborative approach to R&D that combines its knowledge and expertise with each client’s specific operations.
In 2020, private equity fund Advent International acquired a thirty percent stake in Aareon from Germany’s Aareal Bank Group, which is Aareon’s holding company. Aareon has more than 7,000 clients across Europe, who manage approximately fourteen million real estate units. The company has over 2,000 employees and offices in the DACH region, France, the UK, Benelux, and the Nordics. It has a revenue around 310 million euros and EBITDA around seventy-five million euros.
“It’s really fun. We are profitable, we are also growing fifteen to twenty percent. Meanwhile, it still feels like a start-up as we all work closely together and make quick decisions.” – Bas Joosten, Head of M&A at Aareon
Vacancy: Corporate M&A Manager
The Corporate M&A Manager will join the strategy team and work with the Head of M&A. This role will take deals from a-to-z while collaborating with teammates on sector knowledge. This role doesn’t need deep experience in closing deals from day one, as the position offers space to build this expertise and Aareon has the deal flow to facilitate it. In the last eighteen months, the company has closed thirteen deals for around 400 million euros.
During the next three quarters, three more deals are expected that total up to 300-400 million euros. In addition to deal exposure, the Corporate M&A Manager will have the opportunity to build private equity portfolio experience, and understand the portfolio value creation strategy.
The Corporate M&A Manager will be hands-on, as reflected by Aareon’s leadership team. This means building the model, making slides, pitching deals, and doing the work. Decisions are made quickly, as deals do not pass through lengthy sequential stages and an IC. Instead, the M&A team iterates with the CEO several times a week, and drives deal decisions with the Aareon Management and Supervisory Boards. Aareon’s M&A has a strong sector-focus, which fits their the buy and build strategy for its property management SaaS platform. And its players’ knowledge of the market is strong within the team. The Corporate M&A Manager leverages this and puts the pre-deal emphasis on financial and legal due diligence.
“We like to keep moving forward quickly, doing the right thing and then moving on to the next! – Bas Joosten, Head of M&A at Aareon
In addition, Aareon is three years into Advent International’s investment with its planned exit on the horizon in the coming years. This offers the Corporate M&A Manager the opportunity to take a central role in the exit process, from preparing materials to managing advisors, from lawyers and accountants to consultants. And they will be part of one of Europe’s top software deals. The exit will also provide a new opportunity for growth, either by joining the management team or by continuing to build deal experience with the new private equity investor.
This is an exciting opportunity for a hands-on financial or accounting professional with a strong sense of autonomy to work in a private equity M&A pressure cooker. They will engage in portfolio strategy, various new bold-on acquisitions, and a large pan-European PE exit, all within the next two years. This role can be based anywhere in Europe, working a hybrid set-up that includes some travel.
Interested?
Aareon is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, please contact Annelijn Nijhuis at annelijn.nijhuis@topofminds.com.
