CEO by acquisition

The CEO by acquisition program is for executives who want to take over a company and run it as an owner, not as an employee. The Hetmos group acquires established and profitable businesses alongside you, with EBITDA from €200,000 to €2M. You hold 49% of the capital and the group 51%, with full operational governance for you, and value is built over time, at the pace of the acquired company.

The acquisition is financed by a bank LBO backed by the target company, with no personal contribution or personal guarantee. This is not a search fund: you do not spend months raising a vehicle before looking for a target. Targets are not already owned by the group either.

They are sourced with you, from your sector, size and geography criteria, then approached one by one, including when they are not officially for sale. The search covers all of France and Western Europe, no region excluded. This gives you access to a far wider market than the few deals circulating among intermediaries, and puts you in a position to compare before committing.

Four verticals are open at launch: M&A and corporate finance, wealth management and insurance, real estate, and business services. Each targets established mid-sized firms with a client base and teams in place. The profile sought is an experienced executive, comfortable with teams, financial partners and clients, autonomous and rigorous, ideally familiar with a regulated environment.

A personal contribution is expected: it does not finance the acquisition, it is used to take part, with Hetmos, in the project structuring costs (target search, advisory, debt arrangement), shared with Hetmos. Its level is set during the interview. If an acquisition does not ultimately fit your situation, because you prefer a salaried role or do not have a personal contribution, the platform points you to other group offers.

The contact for these offers is Axel, a member of the Hetmos group, who follows operator applications.