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Mittelstand
Mittelstand, as the word is used in DACH, is the owner-managed firm, often a family firm. Size is not the test. Who owns it and who runs it is.
IfM Bonn's ceiling, 500 employees and 50 million euros of revenue, only describes part of the set. The better test is qualitative: ownership and management sit together, often in one family for generations, with a long horizon and a deep niche.
For a valuation that usually means more owner dependence than in a listed peer, a thinner second bench, and lighter reporting. The tool is built for those owner-led DACH companies. Size classes run from micro to large, up to about 1 billion euros of enterprise value.