Shareholder exit alongside MDR recertification

A manufacturer of single-use surgical instruments faced two problems at once. A shareholder holding 40 % wanted out, with no successor in place. And eleven product families were due for MDR recertification, which the company costed at roughly EUR 3.4m — against an EBIT margin of minus 3 %.

We assessed every product family against its recertification cost: what does MDR clearance cost, and what will the product contribute over its remaining life? For three of eleven families the answer was clearly negative, and they were discontinued. For the shareholding we approached a financial investor from our own network who took up the succession without touching operational management.

The EBIT margin moved from −3 % to +6.4 % within 16 months, an earnings swing of roughly EUR 2.26m. Portfolio rationalisation cut MDR costs by EUR 2.1m. The shareholding changed hands at EUR 5.2m.