Buy-side advisory, one module at a time
The buy-side menu has six modules. Deal origination is a 90-day fixed-term search for companies that aren't on the market. The others cover sorting the opportunities you already have, diligence, assembling the deal team, and running the process from letter of intent to closing. Each is priced on its own. No retainer, and no fee at close.
Fixed fees. No exclusives. No success fees.
What each module delivers
Deal origination
90-day fixed termProprietary search. Thesis, target universe, outbound to owners who aren't on the market. Qualified conversations delivered.
- What you get
- A fixed-term search: a written thesis, a defined universe of target companies, and a defined volume of outbound to owners who aren't on the market. You get the qualified conversations that come out of it.
- When it fits
- You know what you want to buy and it isn't showing up in the listings.
Opportunity evaluation
ScopedTriage what's already in front of you. Which ones deserve real work.
- What you get
- A triage of the opportunities already in front of you: which ones deserve real work, and why the others don't.
- When it fits
- You have more deals to look at than time to look at them.
Diligence support
ScopedFind what the confidential information memorandum left out.
- What you get
- A working review of the target that goes past the confidential information memorandum: what it left out, and what that means for the price and the terms.
- When it fits
- You're under a letter of intent, or about to be.
Deal team assembly
ScopedThe right attorney, accountant, and lender for this deal.
- What you get
- The attorney, the accountant and the lender this deal needs, chosen for it and coordinated.
- When it fits
- This is your first acquisition, or your first of this kind.
Deal captain to close
ScopedDrive the process from the letter of intent through closing.
- What you get
- One person driving the process from the letter of intent through closing: the timeline, the open items, and the people who owe them.
- When it fits
- The deal is real and needs someone whose job is to keep it moving.
Full acquisition process
ScopedSearch, diligence and close, run as one engagement. One fixed fee, no fee at close.
- What you get
- The whole buy-side process, run as one engagement: the origination search, triage of what it turns up, diligence on the target, the deal team, and someone driving from the letter of intent through closing. The fee is scoped after the intro call, then fixed in writing. There's no fee at close.
- When it fits
- You're making an acquisition and want one team on it from the search to the closing table.
Scoped — priced per engagement after the intro call. Every fee is fixed and agreed in writing before work starts.
Why origination is a fixed term, not a retainer
Origination is a fixed-term search. It has a defined target universe and a defined outreach volume over 90 days. When the term ends, you have the conversations it produced, and you decide whether to run another.
It isn't an open-ended monthly fee, and there's no fee at close. That's deliberate. An advisor who gets paid when a deal closes has a reason to want this deal to close. One who's paid for the search has a reason to find you the right company.
For what the federal M&A broker exemption covers and why pay at closing matters, see business broker vs M&A advisor.
The rest of the menu works the same way. The sell-side modules are priced one at a time too.
Questions buyers ask
How do you find businesses that aren't for sale?
Through deal origination: a 90-day fixed-term search with a written thesis, a defined universe of target companies, and a defined volume of outbound to owners who aren't on the market. You get the qualified conversations that come out of it.
Is deal origination a monthly retainer?
No. It's a fixed term with a defined target universe and a defined outreach volume, and there's no fee at close. When the term ends, you have the conversations it produced, and you decide whether to run another.
Can you help with due diligence on a business I'm buying?
Yes. Diligence support is a working review of the target that goes past the confidential information memorandum: what it left out, and what that means for the price and the terms. It's scoped, which means priced after the intro call and then fixed in writing.
Who should be on the deal team for an acquisition?
An attorney, an accountant and a lender suited to this particular deal. Deal team assembly finds them and coordinates them, which matters most on a first acquisition or a first of its kind. It's scoped after the intro call.
Who runs an acquisition from the letter of intent to closing?
That's the deal captain module: one person driving the process from the letter of intent through closing, keeping track of the timeline, the open items, and the people who owe them. It's scoped after the intro call.
Not sure what you need?
That's what the call is for.
Free. No pitch. No obligation to buy anything.
Thirty minutes
By video or phone, at a time you pick.
We work out what you need
Which module fits, if any. Sometimes the answer is none yet.
You leave with a number
If a module fits, you'll know its fixed fee before you decide anything.