ProxDeal for private equity

Private equity firms are constantly on the lookout for attractive investments with a good strategic fit – often diversified across different sectors, regions and company life-cycle stages. The challenge lies not only in identifying potential targets, but also in gathering the relevant data and in evaluating and prioritising prospective target companies. In highly competitive processes in particular, an early information advantage can be decisive. This is exactly where ProxDeal comes in.

The traditional process

The classic approach to target search often looks like this: junior professionals or in-house researchers search various databases, maintain contacts with advisors and experts, and work through industry lists. On top of that, the separate screening of company metrics, the manual upkeep of Excel longlists and the sending of outbound emails are all part of the daily routine. Because new sectors are opened up primarily through networks and precedent transactions, niche companies often go undetected owing to incomplete databases or opaque market structures.

Although the manual method provides a thorough understanding of specific markets, it is highly time-consuming and heavily dependent on available resources – if you work with a small team, you quickly hit capacity limits.

How ProxDeal is changing deal sourcing

ProxDeal complements the traditional approach with a structured, technology-driven method based on AI-powered content analysis and up-to-date data. The concept is built on writing a short but detailed profile of the target you are looking for, from which a longlist of matching companies is generated. With this content-based strategy, countless websites are searched for relevant information within a very short time – instead of navigating through industry codes or standard lists. AI agents analyse all available content automatically and on a daily basis, drawing on Germany’s largest dataset.

The search focuses on thematically relevant content – that is, on the products and services specified in the target profile. You can make the research even more targeted by also entering the websites of comparable companies. In the results, companies with a close content match are prioritised, and selected filters produce a longlist that is not only structured but also transparent and easy to review. In addition, AI-based search reduces cognitive biases in the selection process and enables a more objective view of the market.

Benefits for private equity firms

Precise search and additional data

A decisive advantage is the ability to run highly specific searches – for example for sub-niches or product groups that cannot be represented in classic industry databases. ProxDeal not only delivers a content-based selection of companies, but also enriches it with key additional data such as legal form, publicly available shareholder data and a clear company description. Selected financial metrics such as total assets are automatically aggregated from reliable sources like commercial register (Handelsregister) data or annual financial statements – complemented by a match rationale for every target company returned.

Succession signals and demographic structures

A key benefit is the inclusion of demographic structures such as the age of the person running the company. From the age of 55, selling a business often brings tax advantages, which means takeovers can be planned well in advance. By linking different types of data, succession probabilities can be derived – for example, when the managing director is also the sole shareholder and over 55, and no authorised signatory (Prokurist) with the same surname is registered. To date, no other application delivers this kind of insight in this form. As a result, the longlists are not only thematically relevant but also operationally actionable.

Outreach automation

Further practical value comes from the integrated outreach automation, which enables fast, targeted outreach to a large number of relevant companies. Mail merge letters and emails can be highly personalised and matched precisely to your corporate design. The flexibility to choose from existing longlists and shortlists, together with the individual configuration of subject lines, copy, logos and signatures, considerably streamlines the process and gives your communications a more professional look.

Use on the sell-side

ProxDeal’s benefits are not limited to the buy-side: on the sell-side as well – for example as part of exit strategies or discreet market soundings – you can use the AI search to identify potential acquirers. Suitable strategic or financial buyers are identified and prioritised in a structured way on the basis of concrete company content.

Conclusion

Private equity firms are under growing pressure not only to find relevant deals but also to establish contact with potential targets early on. ProxDeal offers a clear alternative to classic research: with a content-based search and the automated discovery of niche companies, longlist building reaches a new level of quality. Instead of time-consuming database screening, ProxDeal enables you to identify and contact relevant companies faster – for both buy-side and sell-side searches. This turns classic manual research into a low-effort, data-driven process – substantially more effective and faster.

Frequently asked questions