CM-Equity AG, a Munich-based investment bank, has become the go-to address for professional, ROI-driven investors, as well as early stage, innovative companies looking for strategic partners to grow their business internationally.
The company was founded in 2002 by Michael Kott, who has built an extensive international network as well as comprehensive expertise in investing and global capital markets for more than 25 years. Previously, Kott was heavily involved in designing major parts of the trading system of Germany’s capital markets and oversaw secondary listings of hundreds of Asian companies on German stock exchanges.
Since establishing CM-Equity, Kott has developed it from a proprietary trading desk into a fully regulated and EU-passported and licensed investment bank with three business units: Asset Management, Corporate Finance and Investment Holdings.
CM-Equity’s investment strategy and corporate approach defies convention as it focuses on small to midsize private and publicly listed companies. Its approach requires intensive personal and transparent communication with a network of like-minded associates, whether they are at home or abroad, in the government or in the private sector.
The bank collaborates with leading universities and their attached incubators, as well as with business angels, venture capitalists and public equity firms, and always works solely with decision makers.
“Through our international work, CM-Equity recognized the outstanding opportunities of China‘s Belt and Road Initiative for investors and companies. The Belt and Road Initiative, laid out by President Xi Jinping in 2013, will have an impact on the world for the coming decades,” Kott explained.
“Our international team is proud and privileged to work as an active contributor to the Belt and Road Initiative. Our corporate selection model enables us to execute ongoing projects in a timely and successful manner as we bridge the cultural gap between Eastern and Western businesses,” he said.
As a trusted partner and adviser to China’s central government, CM-Equity offers substantial funding and infrastructure support for qualified companies from Germany and abroad. The bank applies people-centered criteria when screening companies.
To reach a global scale and achieve sustainability, it relies on communication, transparency and entrepreneurial talent, social responsibility and trustworthy leadership.
CM-Equity’s ongoing projects include the building of international industry hubs in China and in Belt and Road countries for general aviation, healthcare, medical technology, life science, education and finance, among others.
It is also setting up Innovation World in Shandong Province in China, which could work as template for similar industry ecosystems around the world.
The area will be populated by startups, original equipment manufacturers, university accelerators, incubators, academic coaches, venture capitalists and funding pools for multiple industries, which include those in Industry 4.0, big data, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain technology, high-tech automation and robotics, renewable energy and smart agriculture.
On a continuing basis, CM-Equity is on the lookout for qualified institutional investors, industrial partners and academic institutions from Asia, Germany and the rest of Europe to join its Belt and Road Partner Network. The bank hopes to find the right people who can contribute and support the developing of sustainable products and new markets.
“Ultimately, we will create a better world together,” Kott said.
CM-Equity is also setting up a Global Startup Fund, which involves top university accelerators around the world. Professional investors who are interested in any of the mentioned projects can contact Kott at kott@cm-equity.de.
