Urs Märk & Co. – The Firm at a Glance

Urs Märk & Co. is an independent, entrepreneur- and owner-oriented advisory and investment firm with registered office in Zollikon, Zurich, Switzerland. Urs Märk & Co. advises and supports shareholders of publicly listed corporations and owners of privately held companies on mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring and corporate finance.

Leadership

Urs Märk, born 1970, entrepreneur and investor since 2009, is an unlimited liable partner and executive director of Urs Märk & Co., a limited partnership under Swiss law. He has advised shareholders and owners on corporate transactions of publicly listed corporations, privately held companies of small- and medium size as well as new ventures for more than 10 years. His specialities include advising in takeovers without the consent of boards (hostile takeovers) and proxy fights.

Prior to founding Urs Märk & Co., Urs Märk was a member of senior management at Bank at Bellevue Ltd, Küsnacht, Zurich, for seven years prior to the acquisition of the aforementioned by Swissfirst Ltd, Zug, at swissfirst Bank Ltd, Zurich, and at Credit Suisse AG, Zurich. He started his career in mergers and acquisitions in 1999 at Ernst & Young Ltd, Basel, branch office Zurich, out of which The Corporate Finance Group Ltd., Zug, was founded 2000. He gained his earliest professional experience at Nestlé (Canada) Inc., North York, Toronto, Canada, a subsidiary of Nestlé Ltd, Vevey, and at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel, carrying out corporate audits in North America, Europe and Asia / Pacific. He obtained a master’s degree in business administration in 1995 at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Graduate School of Business, Economics, Law and Social Sciences.

Urs Märk is a citizen of Nesslau in Toggenburg, and grew up near Lake Constance and the border region of Switzerland, Germany and Austria, in Thurgau, the son of a Swiss mother from the St. Gallen Rhine valley and an Austrian father from Vorarlberg. He has lived in Zollikon, Zurich since his return from Toronto, Canada, in 1999. He is the winner of several championships and medals in orienteering in Switzerland and in 1988–1990 was a member of the junior national team of the Swiss Orienteering Federation. During his studies, he was a member of the executive board of the local committee of the Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (AIESEC). In 2008, he completed the New York City marathon and the Bol d’Or. His other interests include alpine skiing, hiking, golf, tennis and contemporary art.

The name Märk originates from Hohenems, Vorarlberg, Austria, from immigrants (formerly named Merk, Merkh, Merkher) who migrated there in 1600 from southern Germany.

Advisory expertise

Transactions involving controlling interests in:

• public takeovers, proxy fights in shareholder meetings and going private,
• mergers, acquisitions, disposals and management-buy-out/-in of privately held companies,
• corporate restructuring, share listings,
• corporate and venture finance, share repurchases and block trades

Business principles

Trustworthiness

Urs Märk & Co. is a trusted adviser with a long-term approach to client relationships. Our focus on value added enables us to provide services swiftly and efficiently.

Independence

Urs Märk & Co. takes a shareholder- and owner-centred perspective and follows an active, offensive strategy. Confidentiality is a core value.

Ownership

Urs Märk & Co. chooses an independent, personal form of organization with a high degree of entrepreneurial freedom.

Culture

Urs Märk & Co. has an informal structure that promotes rapid decision making. Communication is honest, open and direct.

Innovation

Urs Märk & Co. exploits the symbiosis between expertise in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and operating experience from industrial companies.

Teams

Urs Märk & Co. works in small, agile, high-performing teams with complementary strengths.

Diversity

Urs Märk & Co. draws on the creativity enabled by diversity whether it relates to age, gender, education, ethnicity or culture.