M&A Director

CompanionCo is the holding company of various Auren and Moore accounting and consulting firms, backed by Waterland Private Equity Investments B.V (“Waterland”). With an entrepreneurial spirit and a high growth pace, CompanionCo is building a pan-European organization, founded on the solid legacy and values of its partnerships. In 2020, Waterland entered the capital of Moore Belgium. The turnover has since grown from EUR 50 mio to over EUR 250 mio through both organic growth and buy-and-build. Starting in 2023, a pan-European investment thesis was developed in order to deliver an integrated cross-border service offering to clients. This led to participations by Waterland in the capital of Moore Kingston Smith (UK) and Moore Ireland (2023) and Moore DRV (The Netherlands) (2024). More recently, entities in Spain and Germany have been added to the group. Today, combined turnover is in excess of EUR 1b with well over 7500 employees. The ambition is to further grow in the existing regions and add new ones to the group as well. Its vision is to become the leading pan-European service provider for mid-market companies, offering accounting, audit, tax, and advisory services through a pragmatic, hands-on approach. In doing so, CompanionCo aims to create sustainable value for its employees, clients, and shareholders alike. A Path of Entrepreneurial Growth Entrepreneurship lies at the heart of CompanionCo’s success. Each of its firms combines a strong local identity with ambitious growth goals, driving both organic and strategic expansion across Europe. To execute this Pan-European strategy and pursue a more profound cooperation and integration between the different entities, CompanionCo was founded as the holding entity that coordinates these efforts. At CompanionCo a Legal Counsel, CFO and Financial Manager were recently hired. To support this evolution, Moore is now looking to appoint an M&A Director at the level of the CompanionCo structure. This individual will take on a significant portion of the M&A responsibilities currently held by Waterland, and will become a key figure in driving the European M&A agenda forward. Mission Support business development decision-taking in the early phase of the M&A process, provide the necessary expertise and intelligence in all phases of the M&A process, project-manage all acquisition projects from start to eventual post-acquisition integration plan. The M&A Director is part of the CompanionCo team and will work closely with key company leadership and Waterland. Main responsibilities M&A Deal Execution and strategy Lead end-to-end M&A processes, including deal sourcing, evaluation, and execution. Focus on deals linked to geographic expansion and large or complex acquisitions, or even a potential exit. Structure and coordinate the overall deal timeline, stakeholders, and responsibilities. Support local M&A teams in countries where Auren & Moore is already present. Focus on maintaining high standards of M&A processes across the different countries by having a consistent approach and clear governance. Support the Waterland and leadership team in defining and executing the M&A strategy. 2. Target Identification & Screening Build and manage a pipeline of potential acquisition targets aligned with the company’s growth plan. Conduct financial analysis and performance assessments of target companies. Prepare Go / No-Go recommendations for senior management and Waterland. 3. Due Diligence Management The role typically coordinates the due diligence process across departments: Work with internal teams such as Finance, legal, tax, HR and IT Coordinate with external advisors (advisors, lawyers, banks). Ensure comprehensive due diligence before acquisition decisions. Prepare comprehensive handover to local team to ensure smooth start of Post-Merger Integration process. 5. Deal financing Monitor deal financing activities (if applicable) Support CFO and treasury activities 6. Project Leadership Senior roles also involve leadership duties: Coach members of the M&A team in various countries. Coordinate crossfunctional project teams. University degree level in Economics, Business Administration or Engineering (Master degree ideally). Minimum 5-10 years’ experience in the corporate finance or strategy department of a major firm. Demonstrated ability to lead buy-side transactions from origination through closing. Based in Europe. International experience / international exposure. Experience in professional services industry is a plus. Proven and strong project management skills. Fluent English required (both verbal and written communication), other languages a plus. Needs to be able to work effectively across different functions and at all levels in the company and with external stakeholders on business, legal and financial matters. Business minded, has the ability to transfer business assumptions into financial modelling. Strong in financial modelling and valuation. Ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced and complex environment with changing priorities and direction. Hands-on, highly organized, able to work well under stress, handle multiple priorities and meet deadlines. Sense of ownership and drive: self-starter and problem solver who shows a bias for action, acts promptly to remove "roadblocks" and ensures accountability to get things done in a timely manner. Team-player with excellent people, communication and influencing skills: is able to “tune in” to and successfully deal with different people at all levels