Managing Director, Head of DACH Financial Sponsor Coverage
Dirk Felsmann, partner, is a managing director and head of DACH Financial Sponsor Coverage for William Blair based in the firm’s Frankfurt office. He is part of the firm’s Financial Sponsors Group with a focus on the DACH region. He joined the investment banking team in 2013. Prior to William Blair, he worked for Dresdner Kleinwort/Commerzbank.
German
French
Spanish
English
a portfolio company of Paragon Partners
has agreed to be acquired by
Pending
William Blair acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Primed, a portfolio company of Paragon, on its pending sale to Inflexion. The transaction signed July 2026.
Read more
has agreed to acquire
a significant minority stake in
Pending
a division of Mesalvo Group, a portfolio company of Trill Impact
has agreed to be acquired by
a portfolio company of Dentressangle
Pending
a portfolio company of Genui
has partnered with
January 2026
has acquired
December 2025
William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to GENUI in connection with its acquisition of PFANNER.
Read more
has acquired
October 2025
William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Warburg Pincus in connection with its pending acquisition of uvex group.
Read more
has partnered with
a portfolio company of Capiton AG
August 2025
William Blair acted as exclusive financial advisor to ICG on its pending financial partnership with Dec Group.
Read more
has been acquired by
July 2025
has received a strategic
investment from
May 2025
has partnered with
April 2025
William Blair acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Armira on its partnership with Osypka AG.
Read more
has been acquired by
April 2025
William Blair acted as exclusive financial advisor to smaXtec, the world’s leading provider of bolus technology for the dairy industry and AI-powered dairy health management software, in connection with its pending sale to KKR Growth and Highland Europe.
Read more
has received a significant minority investment from
February 2025
Our investment bankers are 100 percent committed to your organization’s sustained success. By drawing on our deep industry and product experience as well as our dedicated global resources, we provide advisory and financing services that allow you to capitalize on today’s opportunities and anticipate tomorrow’s challenges.
More about investment banking at William Blair
William Blair's Financial Sponsors Group is focused on developing and institutionalizing relationships with leading private equity firms around the world. Many of these relationships have been developed for over two decades providing us with senior-level access and credibility with the key decision-makers at each private equity firm. With over 295 successful sales to financial sponsors since 2015, we have proprietary insights into each financial sponsor's unique investment criteria, approach, and behavior. Our team's highly-relevant experience with and relevance to the private equity community uniquely positions William Blair to deliver exceptional results for our M&A sell-side clients.
More about our financial sponsors expertise
William Blair is a premier global partnership with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management. We provide advisory services, strategies, and solutions to meet our clients’ evolving needs. As an independent and employee-owned firm, together with our strategic partners, we operate in more than 30 offices worldwide.*
Year William Blair was founded
Employees worldwide
Client assets
Independent and employee-owned
Offices worldwide*
Companies under coverage
As of March 31, 2026
*Includes strategic alliances with Allier Capital, BDA Partners, and Poalim Equity Ltd.
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and not intended as investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Investment advice and recommendations can be provided only after careful consideration of an investor's objectives, guidelines, and restrictions.
Copyright © 2026 William Blair & Company, L.L.C. | Privacy Notice
Information contained on the internet is not subject to William Blair & Company's control or review, and may not be accurate.
For disclosure information, please visit www.williamblair.com/disclosures