Apenberg & Partner GmbH

What Apenberg & Partner GmbH does

Apenberg & Partner GmbH is an independent, founder-led management consulting firm headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, founded in 1987 by Michael Apenberg. The firm is exclusively focused on the German printing, packaging, and media industries, advising owners, shareholders, board members, and executives on strategic repositioning, transformation, restructuring, M&A transactions, and executive leadership appointments. Over its 38-year history, the firm has completed more than 1,000 projects and advised over 300 mid-sized companies and international corporations, with 80% of consulting orders originating from existing client relationships or referrals.

The firm operates three integrated service pillars: Business Consulting (Strategy & Organisation, the proprietary Integrated Print Factory transformation concept, and Crisis & Restructuring), Recruitment Consulting (Executive Search, HR Strategy via the proprietary KAI aptitude diagnostics method, Potential Assessment, and the Printkarriere recruitment platform), and M&A Advisory (Business Sales, Commercial Due Diligence including Red Flag Due Diligence, and Buy-and-Build Strategies). In parallel, the firm publishes proprietary industry research including the annual Print Business Herbstprognose (now in its 23rd edition) and the Printkompress customer magazine, plus a regularly updated blog and fee-based whitepapers. The team consists of approximately 6 employees organized with flat hierarchies.

The business model is project-based professional services fee-for-service consulting for printing-industry clients, supplemented by unit-priced industry publications (e.g., 150 EUR plus VAT for selected whitepapers). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting decision-makers in the German printing sector, executed primarily through direct engagement and referrals rather than digital demand generation. Pricing for consulting engagements is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The firm has no external investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no public listing, and is registered as a private German GmbH.

Name

Apenberg & Partner GmbH

Legal name

Apenberg + Partner GmbH

Website

https://apenberg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Apenberg & Partner GmbH is a Hamburg-based, independent boutique management consultancy founded in 1987 that advises owners, executives, and investors in the German printing, packaging, and media industries on strategy, M&A, restructuring, and executive search.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side) (BPAHAOAA), Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG), Industry-Specialist / Sector-Focused M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAJ)

Keywords

• Print industry consulting
• Management consulting services
• Executive search recruiting
• M&A advisory
• Restructuring consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Consulting Services: Fee-for-service consulting engagements including strategy, transformation, restructuring, M&A advisory, and executive search services for printing industry companies.
2. Publications and Whitepapers: Sale of industry studies and whitepapers (e.g., 150 EUR plus VAT for the packaging market whitepaper). Some publications available free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Apenberg & Partner GmbH is an independent boutique management consultancy founded in 1987 and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. It advises owners, shareholders, boards, and executives of printing, packaging, and media industry companies across three service pillars: business consulting (strategy & organization, Integrated Print Factory transformation, restructuring), personnel consulting (executive search, HR strategy via the KAI method, potential assessment), and M&A advisory (business sale, commercial due diligence, buy-and-build). The firm also produces proprietary industry research such as the annual Print Business Herbstprognose (Autumn Forecast).

Product overview

Apenberg & Partner GmbH is a management consulting firm specializing in the printing, packaging, and media industries. The company operates three integrated service pillars: Business Consulting (covering strategy & organization, Integrated Print Factory transformation, and crisis/restructuring), Recruitment Consulting (including Executive Search, HR Strategy via the proprietary KAI method, and Potential Assessment), and M&A Advisory (spanning Business Sales, Commercial Due Diligence, and Buy-and-Build Strategies). Founded in 1987, the firm also produces proprietary research including the annual Print Business Herbstprognose (now in its 23rd edition) and maintains an extensive publications archive and industry blog. The company does not offer a software product; its offerings are exclusively professional consulting services, talent acquisition, and industry research publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy & Organization Consulting

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company: Global top-tier strategy consultancy with a long-standing industrial and media sector practice. Competes on the largest transformation and strategy mandates that Apenberg's boutique scale cannot address.
• Roland Berger: Largest German-origin strategy consultancy with deep M&A, restructuring, and industrial sector practices. Competes for the same German Mittelstand mandates as Apenberg but at significantly larger scale and broader industry coverage.
• KPMG Germany: Big 4 advisory with dedicated Deal Advisory, Restructuring, and Industrial Manufacturing practices in Germany. Directly competes on M&A sell-side and commercial due diligence mandates.
• Bain & Company: Global top-tier strategy consultancy with strong M&A and private equity advisory practices. Competes with Apenberg on industrial and consumer goods M&A due diligence and corporate strategy.
• Strategy& (PwC): Global strategy consulting arm of PwC with deep industrial and operations practice. Competes with Apenberg on strategy and transformation mandates, leveraging PwC's wider advisory ecosystem.
• BDO Germany: German member of the BDO global advisory network with strong Mittelstand M&A and restructuring practices. Closely comparable to Apenberg in targeting German mid-market industrial clients.
• Oliver Wyman: Global management consultancy with strong industrial, automotive, and operations practices. Competes with Apenberg on transformation and operations improvement work for industrial mid-market clients.

Direct peers

• AlixPartners: Global restructuring and turnaround advisory with strong industrial sector credentials. Directly comparable to Apenberg's Restrukturierung & Sanierung practice, though operating at substantially larger scale internationally.
• goetzpartners: Munich-based independent corporate finance and strategy advisory firm focused on mid-market M&A, restructuring, and succession in German-speaking markets. Highly comparable to Apenberg in size, ownership structure, and mid-market DACH advisory focus.

Others

• msg group: German independent IT and business consulting group with strong industrial and automotive industry coverage. Adjacent ecosystem player that occasionally crosses into transformation and M&A advisory for German industrial Mittelstand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apenberg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Apenberg & Partner GmbH