How to Find a Business to Buy in Saxony
The easiest way to find businesses for sale in Saxony is through the AI-powered search function on viaductus. There, you can search specifically for companies currently on the market in Saxony.
viaductus is the search engine for buying and selling businesses, as we scan and curate the entire public M&A market for you.
How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Business in Saxony?
This is difficult to specify, as it heavily depends on the size, location, industry, and economic condition of the business.
A useful benchmark is usually the EBIT multiplier. This considers the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and multiplies it by a factor ranging from 3 to 8.
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Economic Strengths of Saxony
Over the past decades, Saxony has developed into one of the most dynamic economic regions in eastern Germany and today plays a leading role in the economic development of the new federal states. The impressive transformation from a formerly planned economy to a modern, innovation-driven business hub is reflected in numerous key indicators. With a gross domestic product of approximately 156 billion euros in 2023, Saxony represents a significant economic force within Germany. Despite global economic challenges and a slight decline of 0.6% in inflation-adjusted GDP compared to the previous year, the Saxon economy demonstrates remarkable resilience. This is evident, among other things, in a 5.4% increase in GDP at current prices per employed person, indicating efficient adaptability and structural resilience of regional economic players. Particularly noteworthy is the diversified industry structure, ranging from traditional sectors like mechanical engineering to cutting-edge high-tech fields such as microelectronics, as well as a vibrant creative economy, offering potential investors a broad spectrum of opportunities for strategic business acquisitions.
Saxony’s geographic location in the heart of Europe, at the crossroads with Poland and the Czech Republic, gives the state outstanding strategic importance as a hub for trade and logistics between Western and Eastern Europe. This advantageous position is optimally leveraged by an excellent transport infrastructure, including modern highways, efficient rail connections, and the Leipzig/Halle International Airport, which serves as Germany’s second-largest cargo airport. The Saxon industry is characterized by strong innovation capabilities and a high degree of specialization, with the automotive sector—featuring renowned manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Porsche, and BMW—and a dense network of highly qualified suppliers standing out as a flagship. Additionally, promising clusters in microelectronics and semiconductor technology have been established, further strengthened by multi-billion-euro investments from global corporations like TSMC, Infineon, and Bosch. This industrial diversity is complemented by a dynamic service sector, a flourishing creative economy, and a growing ecosystem of innovative startups that benefit from close collaboration with the state’s numerous universities and research institutions, collectively creating an attractive environment for business investments.
Attractive Conditions for Business Acquisitions
Saxony’s economic landscape is predominantly shaped by a healthy and diversified Mittelstand (small and medium-sized enterprises), which forms the undisputed backbone of the regional economy and provides fertile ground for strategic business acquisitions. Thousands of small and medium-sized companies operate successfully across various industries and niches, many of which possess highly specialized expertise, patented technologies, or specific market positions that make them attractive takeover candidates. Particularly in traditional industrial sectors such as mechanical engineering, metal processing, and precision mechanics, numerous hidden champions have established themselves. These companies often serve as suppliers to the automotive, aerospace, or medical technology industries and impress with their innovation strength and quality leadership. Frequently family-owned with decades of history, these businesses are increasingly seeking suitable succession solutions, offering potential buyers unique opportunities to gain access to established business models, loyal customer bases, and specialized manufacturing capacities without the risks and startup challenges of founding a new company.
Another significant advantage of Saxony as a location for business acquisitions lies in the comprehensive support infrastructure available to potential investors. The Saxon state government recognizes the importance of business succession as a critical factor for sustainable economic development and has implemented numerous funding instruments that facilitate and financially support the acquisition process. The Saxon Development Bank (Sächsische Aufbaubank, SAB) offers various financing programs, including low-interest loans, guarantees, and equity capital tailored specifically to the needs of business successors. Complementing this is a dense network of specialized advisory institutions such as chambers of industry and commerce, chambers of crafts, and the Saxony Business Succession Network, which provide potential buyers with comprehensive information, individualized consulting, and practical support in finding suitable takeover targets, business valuation, transaction structuring, and financing solutions. The combination of economic diversity, government support, and professional guidance makes Saxony an especially attractive environment for business acquisitions, offering excellent prospects for both strategic investors and entrepreneurs.
Business Succession in Saxony
Demographic developments in Saxony have led to remarkable momentum in business succession in recent years, creating exceptional opportunities for potential buyers. According to the current 2023 succession report from the Saxony Business Succession Network, the state faces an unprecedented wave of business transfers: over the next seven years, more than 1,550 business owners will reach retirement age annually, resulting in at least 10,600 planned business and share transfers by 2030. Sole proprietorships are particularly affected, with approximately 6,100 succession processes expected. These figures vividly illustrate the scale of the succession challenge, which simultaneously represents extraordinary potential for investors seeking established business models with proven market positions. The affected companies come from nearly all sectors, with a particular focus on manufacturing, crafts, retail, and various service industries, offering a wide range of takeover opportunities for diverse investor profiles. The businesses for sale vary significantly in size, from sole proprietorships to medium-sized companies with several hundred employees, providing suitable options for both entrepreneurs with limited budgets and strategic investors with substantial financial resources.
Successfully executing a business acquisition in Saxony is facilitated by a comprehensive ecosystem of specialized support services that professionally accompany the entire succession process. The chambers of industry and commerce in Dresden, Leipzig, and Chemnitz, as well as the state’s chambers of crafts, have established specialized succession moderators who act as neutral intermediaries between sellers and potential successors, discreetly bringing both parties together. Additionally, they regularly offer succession consultation days, seminars, and workshops that provide practical knowledge on key aspects of business acquisition such as valuation methods, financing instruments, tax implications, and legal structuring options. The Saxony Business Succession Network consolidates these initiatives and operates a central online platform where businesses for takeover are discreetly and efficiently matched. Furthermore, specialized consultants, auditors, tax experts, and lawyers are available to expertly guide the complex acquisition process and ensure legally secure, tax-optimized transaction structuring. The combination of a high supply of takeover-worthy companies driven by demographic trends and professional support infrastructure makes Saxony an outstanding location for business acquisitions, offering investors optimal conditions for successful takeover and continuation of existing enterprises.
Industry Diversity and Future Prospects
Saxony’s economic landscape is characterized by impressive industry diversity, providing potential business successors with a comprehensive range of investment opportunities. Traditionally strong is the mechanical engineering sector with its many specializations, from machine tool manufacturing to special machinery and complex automation solutions, with many companies boasting centuries-old manufacturing traditions combined with modern technologies and innovative spirit. In parallel, a highly dynamic technology sector has developed over recent decades, particularly in microelectronics, nanotechnology, new materials, and energy technology, producing internationally recognized competence clusters. "Silicon Saxony," Europe’s largest microelectronics hub, hosts leading semiconductor manufacturers and suppliers, offering excellent acquisition prospects for technology-oriented investors. The creative economy is also gaining importance, focusing on media, design, software, and game development, especially in the urban centers of Dresden, Leipzig, and Chemnitz, which have fostered thriving ecosystems with numerous innovative startups and established medium-sized companies. These are complemented by prosperous businesses in tourism, healthcare, renewable energy, and specialized services, benefiting from the state’s high quality of life and excellent infrastructure, representing promising takeover targets for sector-specific successors.
The future outlook for companies in Saxony is exceptionally positive, further enhancing the attractiveness of business acquisitions in the region. Massive public and private investments in forward-looking technologies and infrastructure create a dynamic environment for economic growth and innovation. The successful establishment of global technology corporations such as TSMC, Bosch, and Infineon in semiconductor manufacturing will generate significant multiplier effects in the coming years, benefiting numerous suppliers, service providers, and partners in the region. Concurrently, the Free State of Saxony is investing strategically in the transformation toward a sustainable, digitized economy, with hydrogen technology, circular economy, resource efficiency, and artificial intelligence defined as key growth areas. These future technologies offer substantial potential for innovative business models and sustainable value creation. This development is supported by an excellent research and education landscape, including four universities, five universities of applied sciences, and numerous non-university research institutions such as the Fraunhofer Society, Max Planck Society, and Helmholtz Association, which continuously supply highly qualified professionals and technological innovations. The combination of economic diversification, future-oriented investments, outstanding educational and research infrastructure, and government support creates ideal conditions for long-term successful business acquisitions and makes Saxony a premium location for strategically minded investors seeking sustainable business opportunities with attractive growth prospects.
Financing and Practical Steps for Business Acquisition
Financing a business acquisition in Saxony is significantly facilitated by a multifaceted ecosystem of public funding programs, private financing options, and specialized support services, making the Free State an especially attractive location for potential successors. The Saxon Development Bank (Sächsische Aufbaubank, SAB), as the state’s central funding institution, offers tailored financing instruments specifically for business takeovers, including the "Business Succession" program with low-interest loans of up to 5 million euros, which can finance up to 100% of eligible costs. Additionally, various guarantee programs are available to reduce the risk for lending banks and thus ease access to conventional bank loans. The Saxony Guarantee Bank provides default guarantees of up to 80% of the loan amount, capped at 1.25 million euros, while for larger financing volumes, state-backed guarantees by the Free State of Saxony are considered. For particularly innovative or technology-oriented business successions, the Saxony Technology Founders Fund (TGFS) offers equity capital that strengthens the equity base and creates additional leeway for future development investments. The combination of these financing components enables customized funding solutions optimally tailored to the specific requirements of each acquisition project and the financial situation of the successor, making even ambitious business acquisitions feasible.
The practical process of acquiring a business in Saxony follows a structured approach that leads to optimal results through professional guidance. It typically begins with a systematic search for suitable takeover candidates, where, in addition to public succession exchanges such as the nationwide "nexxt-change" portal, specialized regional brokerage platforms operated by chambers of industry and commerce and the Saxony Business Succession Network provide valuable services. Personal contact with succession moderators at the chambers often proves particularly effective, as they confidentially facilitate potential matches between sellers and buyers. After initial contact and review of basic company information, an intensive due diligence process follows, during which the target company is thoroughly examined for its economic, legal, technical, and personnel substance. Specialized consultants in Saxony are available for this complex task, whose expertise can be subsidized through various funding programs such as the Free State’s "Founder Directive." Based on the due diligence results, business valuation and price determination take place, followed by structured negotiations on the purchase agreement and accompanying arrangements such as transition provisions for the previous owner. After successful contract signing, the operational takeover can begin, ideally secured by a transition phase with the former owner to optimally transfer implicit knowledge, customer relationships, and corporate culture. This carefully orchestrated approach, combined with Saxony’s comprehensive support infrastructure, maximizes the success prospects for business acquisitions and lays a solid foundation for sustainable continuation and development of the acquired company.