“Raeth combines deep expertise with a keen sense of which partners truly fit our DNA.”
International growth and buy-and-build advisory for Seeders
Over the past decade, Seeders has grown from a small online marketing agency into an international player, with offices in 13 countries and more than 100 employees. This growth required a strategic partner capable of structuring, accelerating and enabling the financial and operational challenges of a buy-and-build trajectory.
Raeth supported Seeders in financing, acquisitions and the development of an international acquisition strategy.
The challenge
Over the course of ten years, Dennis Akkerman built Seeders from a two-person agency into an international one-stop shop for cross-border digital marketing. During this rapid growth, he engaged Raeth as a strategic sparring partner to help make his ambitions financially possible. We supported the financing of the first acquisitions. As the company continued to grow, the need arose for professional guidance with its buy-and-build strategy. Building on the relationship we had developed, we helped define and execute Seeders' international buy-and-build strategy.
Our role
We supported Seeders across key elements of its growth:
- Financing of the first acquisitions
- Guidance on an ongoing acquisition and acting as a structural sparring partner
- Development of the international buy-and-build strategy, including target profile, longlist development, outreach to potential targets and initial exploratory discussions
- Full process support across acquisitions, financing and legal structuring in collaboration with Arslan & Partners
The process
Through our close collaboration, during which we gained a deep understanding of both the entrepreneur and the business, we were able to guide the strategy with a sharp focus on strategic fit, cultural alignment and efficiency. We took on the operational steps of the buy-and-build process, from building the longlist to initiating first conversations, and from financing support to legal coordination. In collaboration with Arslan & Partners Advocaten, we operated as one integrated team across acquisitions, financing and legal support.
The result
An approach like this significantly reduces the time an entrepreneur needs to spend identifying and assessing potential acquisition targets. Multiple suitable companies were identified that were open to an acquisition, conversations became more relevant, and the number of acquisitions increased. In many ways, we functioned almost as the company’s internal corporate finance team. In short: less work for the entrepreneur and stronger results for the business.
