A scorecard that outlives the deal.
Acquisition mandates for European industrials. We have screened 120 OEMs down to eight board-ready targets, pressure-tested a €35M bid, and turned a broad expansion ambition into €0.5B of prioritised projects.
What acquisition mandates taught us
THE SCORECARD OUTLIVES THE SHORTLIST
- The eight criteria matter more than the eight targets.
- They survive the deal that dies and speed up the next screen.
MOST DEAL RATIONALES ARE BUILT BACKWARDS FROM A TARGET SOMEBODY ALREADY LIKES
- Once a name is in the room, the sizing is written to justify it.
- We size the market first and let the shortlist fall out of it.
WE DO NOT ADVISE ON THE TRANSACTION
- No banking, no negotiation, no fee on completion.
- We will tell you when none of them are worth buying.
Where the weeks actually go
Bar widths are to scale. Every acquisition mandate runs the same eight to ten weeks.
Scope
Agree the strategic logic and the criteria, before any target is named.
Criteria agreed before targetsField
Market sized, universe screened, and the shortlist pressure-tested against the criteria.
120 screened on one mandateHand over
The scorecard, the screened universe and the board-ready shortlist, with the reasons for every rejection.
Scorecard handed over, yours to reuseTwo hours of your team’s time a week. No workshop marathon.
Questions we have answered
Which targets fit the strategy, as opposed to which are available?
What are the criteria, and did we agree them before we saw a name?
How big is this market before we pay for a position in it?
What did we reject, and can we defend why?
Is this rationale built forwards from the strategy, or backwards from a target?
What happens to the screen if this deal dies?
Which of the three is happening to you?
Pick the one that sounds like your building. It shows what that mandate returned, and where to read it.
Sawmill equipment suppliers screened against criteria agreed before any target was named. The eight criteria matter more than the eight targets, and they survive the deal that dies.
Prioritizing Sawmill Equipment Suppliers Acquisition Opportunities →What acquisition mandates add up to
Quick reads
Acquisition and due diligence work we have published. Screening, market sizing, target prioritisation and buy-side review.
Prioritizing Sawmill Equipment Suppliers Acquisition Opportunities
Read it →
Agropulp Market Assessment and Acquisition Targeting
Read it →
Buy-Side Due Diligence on a Nordic Private Education Provider
Read it →
Inorganic Growth Opportunities in Vietnam Construction Sector
Read it →
Mapping CVC Market and Competitor Landscape
Read it →
Mapping PET Packaging Value Chain Opportunities
Read it →
European Specialty Chemical Market Opportunity Mapping
Read it →
Strategic Competitor Analysis and Trade Flow Review
Read it →
Benchmarking Competitor Innovation in Bioindustries
Read it →Proof
Numbers from acquisition mandates. Every one is a client’s result, not our claim.
8 acquisition targets, from 120 screened
Sawmill equipment M&A at a €8B machinery company. A structured eight-criteria evaluation, 20+ stakeholder interviews, and a €3.7b addressable market sized from the ground up.
Read the case →
€35M bid price justified and pressure-tested
Buy-side commercial due diligence on a private daycare group, with a 17% IRR validated through scenario analysis before the bid was submitted.
Read the case →
€0.5B of priority projects identified
Inorganic growth options mapped across the Vietnamese construction sector for an infrastructure investor, turning a broad ambition into a ranked, deal-level pipeline.
Read the case →
What acquisition clients said
Which of these three is happening to you?
The shortlist that arrived before the criteria, the market nobody sized, or a room where everyone is paid if it closes. Eight to ten weeks, one senior analyst and two juniors, and the scorecard is yours at the end.
Talk to us →