Interview with Lluís Lluch
This October we would like to introduce you to our partner in the M&A area Lluís Lluch. Lluís has extensive experience in the field of M&A processes, having participated in national and international transactions, with specific experience in operations with Chinese companies. His sectorial experience is wide, both in the industrial field and in services and technology.
He was founder and CEO of Barcelona Business Landing, a company specialized in M&A processes and landing strategies for companies with commercial and investment interests in Spain. You joined AddVANTE a month ago. What are your motivations for joining the AddVANTE M&A team?
The motivations are various, but mainly with AddVANTE we saw the possibility of accelerating our growth and bringing our method and internationality to the firm. Likewise, the value of being able to offer our clients a global M&A service has been another of the points we value very positively. On the other hand, the possibility of sharing knowledge in this field has made us decide to become part of the group. For us, AddVANTE is a professional services firm of reference, especially in the area of M&A.
Today’s market requires M&A professionals to be increasingly creative and rigorous in the design and execution of their proposals, with high standards of quality and flexibility to adapt to the needs required by each operation. What is the added value you provide to your clients?
As Barcelona Business Landing part of our added value was the ability to access international investors and especially those from China. We are convinced that a large part of the success of a sales process is the possibility of bringing in the maximum number of national and international investors. Another of our values is the ability to perceive the concerns of SMEs and we think that good management of all the emotions that are put at stake in these processes is key. With AddVANTE, in addition to all these aspects, we can provide much more capacity in the final part of the process, another of the most delicate points in the closing of an operation.
In the field of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), what should companies, especially SMEs, take into consideration in order to face the future with security and peace of mind?
Like any other business activity, the process is key. The better all the phases involved in a sale or acquisition are executed, the better the result will be. There is a tendency among SMEs to neglect this aspect; it is often thought that a company sells itself, and of course, this is not the case. If an SME invests time, knowledge and money in selling its products/services, it does not make sense that the same effort is not made when deciding to find a new partner or sell the company. The same applies when we want to make an acquisition.
As a consultant, you have extensive experience in the Chinese market. What can the Asian giant bring to Spanish companies in the coming years in terms of investments and purchases?
In general, I would like to point out that Chinese companies are looking to access new technologies and international markets. Although this market has made great strides at the technological level there are still options in that area. On the other hand, their lack of knowledge and great cultural differences in the internationalization processes push them to enter foreign markets via acquisitions, thus minimizing the risks of adaptation to the local market they are targeting. For Spanish SMEs that decide to reach strategic corporate agreements with Chinese companies, beyond the common advantages, they obtain the possibility of entering the world’s largest consumer market with a local partner. The latter will not only ensure that the acquisition develops efficiently in the home market, but will also make every effort to position the Spanish brand properly in China.
Finally, as an important and prestigious business area, what actions are you going to carry out this 2020 so that the firm gains notoriety in the field of M&A?
In general, we have detected that SMEs are very unaware of M&A processes and this makes them hesitate and, in the end, make many mistakes. Our main objective will be to transmit our knowledge in this field to the greatest number of SMEs, via seminars and personal meetings. We plan to hold seminars in the main cities of Catalonia: Lleida, Girona, Sabadell, Terrassa, etc. Likewise, another of the tasks we set ourselves is to improve our international visibility. Attracting the maximum number of mandates from international companies/investment funds and continuing to strengthen our relationship with Chinese companies with investment interests in Spain.
Lluís regularly participates in seminars and conferences related to the field of Mergers and Acquisitions. He has been a professor of the MBA at UPF, professor of entrepreneurship at CETT and project manager at ESCI. He collaborates as a lecturer in Fundació Escola Emprenedors.
