Advance preparation is key to the short and long-term success of transactions. At this first step we can help you with:
- M&A readiness
- target identification
- preparing to sell.
M&A readiness: Helping you maximise opportunities
You need to prepare your business for change. Establishing a robust risk management framework and appropriate mitigation will put your business in a much stronger position to attract potential investors and achieve deal success. Whether you are looking to sell or buy, this framework provides a critical benchmark for assessing the risks and challenges posed by M&A activity.
With business performance driven largely by the skills, competencies and contributions of your people, employee engagement is critical before, during and after a transaction. You need training and support for your in-house resources. HR can play a key role in the success of your M&A deal and we can help by:
- carrying out pre-deal preparations
- identifying structure and resource gaps
- establishing an M&A blueprint
- providing training.
Target identification: Helping you understand the risks, challenges of a deal
Early analysis and advice can help you identify M&A target businesses. By clarifying your key drivers and undertaking an early assessment of the potential opportunities and challenges, we can help align decisions with your objectives.
We can then help you understand the financial risks and people-related challenges in preparation for the full due diligence process.
We can also advise you on the expected operational insurances your target is likely to arrange – and the costs involved. This red-flag guidance will take account of pertinent information, such as any relevant large loss or lawsuit, before you invest in a full due diligence review.
Sector, market and geographical insights
We have in-depth knowledge of the M&A challenges in more than 120 countries. From the start of the process, we will help ensure you have the market expertise and insights you need to make an informed assessment of the opportunities for business growth.
Preparing to sell: Supporting you throughout the M&A process
The preparation involved in selling a business is crucial in ensuring the success of the deal. To support your business through this process, our aims are clear: to identify and manage potential barriers to a sale and control key risks that might materialise during the pre-deal phase. Not only do we strive for a smooth process, we also often identify opportunities that add value to the business you are selling.
Removing obstacles and risks to support a future business sale or IPO
Deals can be delayed or blocked when key bidders identify unforeseen issues during the sales process. To help you avoid this — and subsequently maximise the deal value — our vendor due diligence services provide an essential review of your:
- global operational risk strategy
- insurance arrangements
- workforce and employee benefits.
By undertaking this review, possible issues should be identified and addressed in advance. And, to help secure the completion of a deal, we can also prepare sell-side warranty and indemnity insurance, offering significant advantages over traditional sellers’ limitation of liability obligations by freeing up the proceeds of the sales and providing all parties with greater certainty that risks are being mitigated.
