For more than four decades, Middelhoff Consulting’s chief executive Thomas Middelhoff has served as a manager, director, and chairman of some of the largest business enterprises in the world. As a board member and later the CEO of publishing conglomerate Bertelsmann, Middelhoff positioned his company as one of the top leaders in the digital media industry.
A Track Record of Success
During his tenure at Bertelsmann, the firm was chosen as the world’s most admired media company on the Fortune 100 list and the most popular employer in Germany. Under Middelhoff’s leadership, Bertelsmann saw its revenue increase by 8.3 billion euros, its EBITA increase from 0.9 billion euros to 3.2 billion euros, its assets grow from 7 billion euros to 22 billion euros, its shareholder equity increase sixfold, and its employee count rise from 54,700 to 82,100.
Besides Bertelsmann, Middelhoff has also served on the boards of AOL, The New York Times Company, Vivendi, Thomas Cook Group, Gruner + Jahr, RTL Group, Polestar, Karstadt, Metro, Arcandor, Senator Entertainment, 3W Power, Marseille-Kliniken, Germany1 Acquisition, Moneybookers.com, Quelle, Neckermann.de, Apcoa Parking, Investcorp, Avecia Holdings, and Barnesandnoble.com.
In his career so far, Middelhoff led or was involved with more than 120 major mergers and acquisitions, including the merger of AOL with TimeWarner in 2000 — to date the largest corporate merger in history.
Additionally, he was instrumental in the development of RTL Group, the leading private radio/television/production firm in Europe; the acquisition of book publisher Random House, which formed the largest book publishing company in the world; the development, launch, and sale of AOL Europe, which created the digital world’s largest cash profit; the acquisition of Condor and the creation of the Thomas Cook Group, which was then merged with myTravel Group to form the world’s second-largest tourism-focused enterprise; the acquisition and subsequent sale of Apcoa, leading to a 12x multiple price; the sale of the real estate portfolio of Arcandor; the sale of Mediaways, which today is part of Telefonica; the acquisition of Fremantle; the creation of Europe’s leading sports rights agency, Sportfive; and the loan agreement for Napster.
Over the course of many years, Middelhoff has built an international network of investors from his time spent as a C-suite executive and in the field of private equity.
Strategic Consulting Services
Middelhoff Consulting offers strategies for digital business models as well as strategic consulting services in the areas of company evaluation, differentiated competitive analysis, and strategic potential determination. The company’s qualified consultants assist in creating and implementing plans for firms leveraging financial expansion by offering in-depth insights into markets and competitors.
Middelhoff Consulting helps customers reach their maximum potential by assisting them with decisions that are supported by facts across the entire investment cycle. With his broad and deep expertise, Thomas Middelhoff can help clients with identifying and ranking the most critical problems facing their companies and executives in order to help stabilize operations and finance and produce results as quickly as possible. With more than 40 years of business experience, Middelhoff’s organization offers strategic consulting services that increase long-term value and profitability for customers.
M&A Advisory Services
By offering sell-side and buy-side assistance, as well as guidance on mergers and joint ventures, Middelhoff Consulting’s mergers and acquisition advisory services benefit clients in the United States and Asia. This division can offer a whole range of consulting and execution services, such as the sale of businesses or portions of businesses on a success basis with no retainer, as well as services related to negotiation and preparing a business for the sales process. Among the services offered are assistance and support with helping clients choose the best investment bank, as well as suggestions on finance, strategy, timing, and structure. Middelhoff Consulting provides complete M&A advisory services and aids in negotiating and closing deals, as well as assuming the dealer and manager roles in tender or exchange bids.
Middelhoff’s extensive track record is proof of his skill at guiding complex transactions that call for a tailored strategy. Middelhoff Consulting offers a variety of advisory and execution services, while its historical customer experience includes the trade, tourism, healthcare, and technology sectors.
Executive Coaching Services
For teams and individuals in need of a fresh direction or strategic positioning for their business, Middelhoff Consulting offers personalized executive coaching. Thomas Middelhoff has years of experience in helping customers improve their performance and develop their leadership potential in the ever-evolving corporate environments of the modern business world. Beginning with an exploratory examination to discover strengths and deficiencies, set quantifiable goals and target areas, and zero in on the skills required to manage personal and corporate objectives, Middelhoff Consulting helps executives boost effectiveness and achieve better business results.
In order to implement cutting-edge and innovative management approaches and styles, Middelhoff Consulting may assist in defining ideal leadership qualities. Middelhoff will create a custom strategic action plan with input from the client to hone leadership skills, increase work quality, streamline organizational procedures, and foster personal growth so that clients can succeed and advance in the corporate world.
Digitization Workshops
Depending on the requirements of a customer firm, Middelhoff Consulting will provide executive-level demos to demonstrate the process and outcomes of digitization. Digitization enables organizations and people to make the most informed decisions regarding data and technology, develop a digital strategy, and put accurate and practical measures into practice. These courses offer firms excellent technical expertise, so they can reinvent themselves and incorporate globalization and digital technology into all aspects of their operations and improve measurable outcomes and business value. Automation and acceleration of workflows are two specific examples of how firms can boost productivity and profitability.
In order to facilitate executives’ comprehension of new high-tech developments and take an inventory of their current capabilities, Middelhoff Consulting may assist in auditing an organization’s existing IT resources. Together in these workshops, the client and Middelhoff will identify any major technical obstacles and assess the subsequent stages and top priorities of rapidly deploying new technological resources in their organizations.
