Advised Pristop Skupina d.o.o. on sale of its 51,4939% share in MCA Grupa to Newton Media a.s.

Selling just a percentage shareholding in a company is a tricky thing as it is, not taking into account that we are 3 private owners plus one institutional owner and we come from two different countries. Our general objective was to switch the institutional owner with another one, at the same time protecting the business and capital interests of private owners. Finding a suitable new investor and future business partner in our small industry (media monitoring) was the basic first step and it was not an easy one.  It took almost a year and lot of wandering around Europe, but we finally decided on one potentially suitable future partner.

And then began the long negotiations.  We were on a long and bumpy road going up and down for many, many months. During this period we learned so much about ourselves, our future partners and got insight into our business from a totally different perspective.  Our consultants from Ascendant became more than just advisors on that exhausting journey. Patient but persistent, skillful and hard negotiators, calm and steady at critical moments, Jurgis, Slaven and Josipa made our life easier during the most difficult times when it seemed that everything for which we have been working for many years will turn to dust. 

Finally, after more than two years since we started on our journey, we finally achieved our goals. It was a privilege and pleasure to step into this unknown territory while having the Ascendant team with us, watching our backs every step of the way.

I have only positive words about Ascendant's (now IMAP SEE) work and expertise, as my experience with it has been incredible. Not only did Ascendant offer the highest standards of quality, but its consultants also valued a personal and mutually trustworthy approach, while respecting formal relations. In other words, I have consistently found a rare combination of professionalism and friendliness among its pool of consultants. Working on a success-fee base model, Slaven Kordić and his team were strongly dedicated, brought new contacts and perspectives to the discussion table, and invested a lot of time and resources to meet our requests. Thanks to Ascendant's work, Pristop found the right partner to reach the deal and step out, while our Croatian partners remained in business, so that everybody walked away happily. For these reasons, I will include Ascendant in future M&A activities, and feel comfortable to recommend it without reservation.