Options Group is hiring a Head of Mergers and Acquisitions - Buy and Build based in Munich. The role sits at the center of a platform company executing an aggressive acquisition strategy across the fragmented German Mittelstand. This is not a standard M&A advisory role. It demands a rare combination of dealmaking precision, operational ownership, and entrepreneurial thinking.
The platform is backed by an experienced shareholder group with a clearly defined Buy and Build strategy. Whoever steps into this position will own the entire acquisition pipeline from start to finish. Understanding exactly what skills this job requires is essential before applying.
Technical Skills Required for This Role
M&A Transaction Expertise
The foundation of this position is deep, hands-on M&A experience. Options Group expects candidates to independently originate, value, and negotiate acquisition targets. That means you must know how to run a deal without leaning on a senior banker above you.
- Financial modeling and valuation: You need to build and stress-test DCF models, comparable company analyses, and LBO models with confidence
- Deal structuring: Understanding how to structure transactions across different risk profiles and capital stacks is non-negotiable
- Due diligence management: Coordinating legal, tax, and commercial advisors during complex processes is a core daily responsibility
- SPA and term sheet negotiation: You must read, redline, and negotiate transaction documents without relying solely on external counsel
Buy and Build Strategy Knowledge
Buy and Build environments operate differently from single-asset transactions. You are building a platform, not closing one deal. Each acquisition must fit a consolidation thesis, and understanding how targets integrate operationally is just as important as pricing them correctly.
Candidates need direct experience working inside Buy and Build platforms, private equity funds with consolidation strategies, or operating partner roles at portfolio companies. Academic knowledge of the concept is not enough here.
German Mittelstand Market Intelligence
This role focuses specifically on the German mid-market. The Mittelstand is a unique ecosystem of family-owned businesses with distinct cultural expectations around trust, confidentiality, and long-term relationships. Candidates need to understand how these companies are priced, how their owners think, and how deal conversations in this segment actually unfold.
- Familiarity with typical Mittelstand ownership structures
- Knowledge of sector-specific dynamics within fragmented German industries
- Understanding of German corporate law basics and transaction norms
Post-Merger Integration Skills
Closing a deal is only half the job. Options Group explicitly states that driving post-merger integration is a core responsibility. Candidates need experience aligning acquired businesses operationally, culturally, and financially with a growing platform.
Integration work includes synergy tracking, management team alignment, process standardization, and reporting structure changes. Weak integration skills will surface quickly in this role, regardless of how strong your deal execution experience is.
Soft Skills That Matter for This Position
Owner Mentality
The job description uses a very specific phrase: you must think like an owner. This distinguishes the role from a transactional M&A advisory position. You are expected to care about outcomes beyond deal closure, including whether the acquired business actually creates value inside the platform.
Candidates who have only worked in investment banking or advisory roles often struggle to make this mental shift. Experience on the operating side or in a principal investing role helps develop this mindset naturally.
Stakeholder Communication
This position connects three distinct groups: platform management, the shareholder group, and external advisors. Each group speaks a different professional language and has different priorities. You need to translate between them clearly and credibly.
Reporting directly to a shareholder group demands executive-level communication. You must present pipeline updates, deal recommendations, and integration progress in ways that drive confident decisions at the board level.
Relationship Building
Independent deal origination in the Mittelstand is relationship-driven. Cold outreach rarely works with family business owners who have spent decades building something. Network development with entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and advisors is listed as an explicit core responsibility in this role.
- Building trust with business owners who are considering exits
- Maintaining relationships with M&A advisors and deal brokers
- Creating a reputation as a serious, credible buyer in the market
Negotiation Under Pressure
Deals fall apart during negotiation. Managing the emotional dynamics of a founder selling a business they built for 30 years requires patience, empathy, and strategic control of the conversation. Strong negotiators in M&A know when to push, when to pause, and when to walk away.
Operational Judgment
Over time, the role evolves into broader operational responsibility. That means you need the judgment to assess businesses not just as financial assets but as operating entities with real teams, customers, and challenges. Operational credibility matters when working alongside management teams post-acquisition.
Experience Requirements Options Group Is Looking For
Options Group specifies eight to ten years of professional experience with a strong M&A or transaction foundation. The ideal background combines dealmaking experience with direct exposure to Buy and Build environments.
Preferred professional backgrounds include:
- M&A roles at private equity firms with active Buy and Build or consolidation strategies
- Platform-side M&A leadership at a PE-backed company executing add-on acquisitions
- Operating partner or portfolio operations roles with transaction involvement
- Investment banking M&A coverage with a move into the principal investing or corporate development side
Pure investment banking experience without any buy-side or operating exposure is unlikely to be sufficient. The role requires someone who has lived inside the Buy and Build process, not just advised on it from the outside.
How to Build the Skills This Role Demands
Build Your M&A Foundation Early
Start with a structured dealmaking environment. Investment banking in M&A coverage or a leveraged finance group gives you the technical foundation in valuation, modeling, and transaction process management. Two to four years in this environment builds the baseline most senior M&A roles require.
Move to the Buy Side
After banking, a move into private equity or corporate development accelerates Buy and Build exposure. Look specifically for funds that use consolidation strategies or platform investing as their core approach. Working on add-on acquisitions inside a PE portfolio company is particularly valuable for this type of role.
Develop Operational Exposure
Take on integration projects. Volunteer to support portfolio operations work during your time at a fund or platform. Understanding what happens after deal close, including the messy realities of combining two businesses, makes you a far more credible candidate for a role like this one.
Build a German Market Network
If you are targeting roles in the German Mittelstand space, start building relationships in that ecosystem now. Attend sector-specific conferences. Connect with M&A advisors, family office professionals, and transaction lawyers active in mid-market Germany. The Mittelstand M&A market runs on relationships that take years to develop.
Strengthen Your Language Skills
While the job posting does not explicitly require German, operating in the Mittelstand makes German language fluency a significant practical advantage. Founders in this segment are often most comfortable discussing sensitive exit conversations in their native language. Fluency removes a real barrier in deal origination and trust-building.
The Head of Mergers and Acquisitions - Buy and Build role at Options Group in Munich is a senior, high-ownership position that demands a very specific professional profile. Candidates who combine strong dealmaking credentials with genuine Buy and Build experience and operational instincts will be the most competitive in this process. You can review the full job listing and apply directly at this link.
