Due diligence for assets that are changing underneath the deal
Why commercial, operational and technology diligence must increasingly test future scenarios rather than validate historical performance.
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M&A strategy
Shape M&A strategy from portfolio rationale and target priorities through diligence, value creation and integration.
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Articles
M&A strategy when the obvious targets are gone
How companies can build a stronger acquisition radar by connecting portfolio logic, target intelligence and strategic fit before competition intensifies.
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Integration strategy defines what must combine, what should not and in what order
The objective is to translate deal logic into choices about operating models, systems, people and governance after close.
M&A strategy should begin with portfolio logic, not with available targets
Acquisitions create value when they support explicit choices about where the enterprise wants to compete and allocate capital.
Strategic challenges
Why should this business be owned rather than built, partnered with or ignored?
The challenge is proving that acquisition is the best strategic route, not simply the fastest route to a desired capability.
Is the buyer ready for the deal it is considering?
The challenge is separating strategic appetite from the practical capacity to fund, integrate and govern an acquisition.
POV
The most important diligence question is still whether the deal should exist
No amount of financial or operational analysis can rescue a transaction whose strategic logic was weak from the beginning.
A synergy without an owner, action and baseline is not value; it is optimism
Deal economics should include only benefits that can be traced to specific changes the combined business can realistically execute.
Strategic impact
A clear consolidation thesis defines where successive deals can reinforce one another
Explicit scale and capability logic helps buyers distinguish coherent platform building from opportunistic asset accumulation.
Commercial diligence makes the revenue thesis more explicit and testable
Independent evidence on customers, markets and competition helps buyers assess growth quality and downside exposure.
What we observe
Target assessment often relies too heavily on seller-defined information
Formal materials naturally emphasize strengths, while structural weaknesses, dependencies and strategic constraints may sit outside the process.
Operational diligence often focuses on cost opportunities and misses execution fragility
Apparent efficiency can conceal capacity bottlenecks, key-person dependence, weak controls or deferred investment.