Acquisition & External Growth
Buying a company is not an opportunity; it is a strategy. We build it, then we execute it.
Acquisition strategy, target sourcing and screening, valuation, offer structuring, due diligence and negotiation: we support the owner from the first hypothesis through to closing.
Acquisition strategy
A successful acquisition starts with a clear thesis: what the deal delivers that organic growth cannot, over what timeframe and at what cost.
We formalise the growth thesis, the targeting criteria, the financial capacity available and the shareholding impact for the owner and their partners.
Target sourcing
We map the market: competitors, product adjacencies, access to new geographies, technology building blocks and scarce know-how.
The approach is direct and confidential. Most of the best targets are not for sale: they have to be won over, not bought off a mandate.
Screening
Each target is assessed on its strategic fit, financial performance, dependence on its owner, culture and genuine integration potential.
We rule out weak fits early. The cost of a failed acquisition is not the price paid: it is the management time consumed and the synergies never delivered.
Valuation
We value the target on its fundamentals, then measure what the deal genuinely creates: revenue and cost synergies, earnings accretion or dilution, and return on capital employed.
We set a walk-away price before entering negotiations, and we hold to it.
Offer structuring
Price, payment structure, earn-out, seller rollover, bank or hybrid financing, warranties requested: we build an offer that is clear, credible and sustainable.
A well-structured offer often beats a higher but less certain one.
Due diligence & negotiation
We lead the financial workstream and coordinate legal, tax and employment advisers. Every due diligence finding is translated into an impact on price, on warranties or on the integration plan.
We run the negotiation through to the final agreements, then prepare the first hundred days with the owner.