{"id":7688,"date":"2026-09-07T11:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T11:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stepstonecf.com\/the-right-decision-at-the-right-moment\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T13:52:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:52:56","slug":"the-right-decision-at-the-right-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stepstonecf.com\/en\/the-right-decision-at-the-right-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"The right decision at the right moment"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Tom\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Megens Installatietechniek has been active in building services engineering for more than five decades, delivering projects from design and engineering through to realisation, service and technical management. Steady, controlled growth built the company into an organisation with 135 employees and offices in Druten, Amsterdam and Apeldoorn. Growing, opening more locations, acquiring another company, selling the business \u2026 What is the right move? Where do the opportunities lie? What are your ambitions? <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Important and far-reaching questions, and matters that deserve careful thought. “And above all, start making plans in good time,” says Jos Ruijs, until recently managing director and owner of Megens. The company is now part of Sertion, an international group of specialist building services companies active in Norway, Sweden and Denmark with around 1,000 employees and EUR 265 million in revenue. <\/p>

We spoke about joining Sertion with Jos Ruijs and Tom Bekkering, Senior Associate at M&A specialist Stepstone Corporate Finance+. Stepstone Corporate Finance+ guided and supported Megens throughout the entire sale process, including finding a buyer that matched the standards and values of Megens. The right decision at the right moment! <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cA few years ago it turned out there was a party interested in our company. We weren't ready for it then, but the seed had been planted.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The seed was planted<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Jos Ruijs: “A few years ago it turned out there was a party interested in our company. We weren’t ready for it then, but the seed had been planted. You start thinking. Where do you want to go? And how are you going to get there? Once it actually comes down to buying and\/or selling, the guidance and support of an M&A specialist is genuinely needed. <\/p>

So why Stepstone Corporate Finance+? Jurgen (a colleague of Tom, BdJ) called me, we made an appointment and there was an immediate click. I can’t explain exactly what that is, but it’s pleasant and it certainly makes a difference when you enter an intensive process together. On top of that, they know our sector and they are entrepreneurs themselves. They understand that when you sell, you hand over more than just your company. And then there is Stepstone Corporate Finance+ itself: founded in 2019 and 50 successful transactions completed since then, a relatively young firm whose partners know from experience what it takes to build a business.” <\/p>

At Megens the motto was, is and always will be ‘Doe maar gewoon’ \u2014 down to earth, involved, and always looking at the long term. The task was to find a match for that culture: one that combines local entrepreneurship and craftsmanship with the strength of a larger international network. And after a thorough process, that worked out well, in the conviction of Jos Ruijs and his team. <\/p>

Tom Bekkering adds: “Jos had started preparing years earlier. That is exactly what we advise entrepreneurs to do, and in a process like this it saves months. Our job is to translate what a buyer wants to see. Knowing what a potential buyer finds interesting. Turning a great deal of data, figures and key metrics into a coherent story that appeals to buyers.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A personal click<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In total, more than forty parties were interested, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Tom Bekkering continues: “Stepstone Corporate Finance+ is the exclusive Dutch member of 7oceans, an international alliance of independent M&A specialists. Through 7oceans, foreign parties were approached directly, via colleagues who really know the players in their own country. Holding conversations, spelling out your expectations and perspective concretely, and ultimately arriving at a shortlist of potential buyers. These parties were then invited to a management presentation. <\/p>

After the various bids came in, three parties were left in this case. The financial picture has to add up, of course, but the personal click with a buyer is at least as important. A lot of time went into that. Many topics were also put on the table so that due diligence would produce as few surprises as possible. Something else that matters in this highly fragmented market is that Megens had already made the step from being purely an installation company to being a platform \u2014 with a separate entity for management support and an independent branch for technical management, for example.” <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cIn total, more than forty parties were interested, both in the Netherlands and abroad.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Impact<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Jos Ruijs of course remains involved with Megens, and is delighted that Megens gets to lead the way for Sertion in the Benelux. “This step makes further growth and development of Megens possible. With more knowledge and expertise on the way to a new phase.” <\/p>

He closes on a personal note: “Good preparation \u2014 I can’t say it often enough \u2014 is truly of the utmost importance. Because let there be no doubt: a step like this has a major impact, on your private life as well. We tried to think of everything and everyone. I believe we succeeded in that, with the help of Stepstone Corporate Finance+. I’m looking forward to my next role.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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This article appeared in the trade magazine Installatie Totaal<\/a>, September ’26 edition. Text: Bart de Jong. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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