Case study: Uncovering risks in a complex acquisition opportunity
Our service industry client had a strategic opportunity to acquire a company about one-third its size, offering entry into new geographic regions with meaningful market share. However, the target was operationally complex and showed signs of under-performance.
Having previously worked with our client on operating model design and implementation, we were asked to bring our analytical approach into deal assessment. We provided operational due diligence as well as planning and coordination for the due diligence process overall. We:
- Aligned and mobilized clean room operations with internal teams and vendors
- Prepared business unit-level assessment of financials, operating model and organization; retail location-level KPIs; benchmarking against acquirer’s target operating model and performance
- Developed deal upside model, quantified synergies, developed integration roadmap
- Supported deal sponsors in interpreting findings and drawing implications for negotiations
The work provided the client with a clear view on what it would take to realize value, with robust factual support. Deal sponsors re-entered negotiations well-informed to target their efforts. The lessons from the experience have landed well and the client Corporate Development team are putting these to use in evaluation of other deals in the pipeline, with our support.
