Before the first offer
To frame valuation and avoid anchoring a price you cannot hold.
Execution
Support for acquiring a company
You have identified a company to acquire. A senior M&A adviser takes you from analysis to signing.
Have you already identified a target and now need to move securely from interest to signing? NC Corporate manages the buy-side process: valuation, LOI, due diligence, negotiation and closing, alongside your legal, tax and accounting advisers.
You retain every decision. Execution can be engaged on its own, with no prior origination mandate.
The steps of an acquisition, explained plainly
- 01Target identified
- 02Strategic review
- 03Valuation
- 04LOI
- 05Due diligence
- 06Negotiation
- 07Signing
01
Framing
Understanding the business, the market and what the acquisition must deliver.
02
First analysis
Accounts, key contracts and dependencies. What justifies going further, or not.
03
Valuation
A reasoned range, cross-checked methods, sensitivity to assumptions.
04
Letter of intent
Price, structure, calendar, exclusivity, conditions precedent.
05
Due diligence
Financial, legal, employment and technical audits : coordinated and summarised.
06
Negotiation
Price adjustments, warranties, earn-out, seller undertakings.
07
Signing
Final documentation, conditions satisfied, closing.
What NC Corporate takes on
- - Due diligence process management
- - Coordination of advisers (financial, legal, tech, HR)
- - Review and synthesis of audit reports
- - Identification and ranking of risks
- - Negotiation: valuation, earn-out, warranties, conditions precedent
- - Interface between buyer, target and advisers
- - Full follow-through to signing
What stays with your advisers
Statutory audit, drafting of deeds and tax opinions remain with your accountants and lawyers. NC Corporate coordinates them, it does not replace them.
When to bring us in
At the letter of intent
To structure the offer, exclusivity and the due diligence calendar.
When audits start
To coordinate advisers, rank risks and prepare adjustments.
How we are paid
On execution-only work, fees combine a fixed component sized to the perimeter with a capped and reduced success fee, triggered at closing only. The effort concerns an execution already under way : the structure reflects that. No amounts are published: levels are discussed in a meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get support to buy a company?
By bringing in a buy-side adviser who runs the process: valuation framing, letter of intent, coordination of audits and negotiation through to signing. The buyer keeps the decision, the adviser carries the mechanics.
When should an M&A adviser be brought in?
Ideally before the first written offer. That is when price anchors and the deal structure is set; revisiting it later costs far more than framing it at the outset.
Who coordinates due diligence?
NC Corporate runs the calendar, the request list, exchanges with the target and the synthesis of reports. The audits themselves are performed by your accountants, lawyers and technical specialists.
How is a letter of intent prepared?
By setting the price or range, payment structure, calendar, exclusivity period, conditions precedent and the expected scope of warranties. A well-drafted letter of intent prevents most later deadlocks.
Can we engage you if we have already identified the target?
Yes. That is precisely the purpose of this engagement mode: execution only, on an opportunity you identified yourself.
Let us discuss your acquisition.
Review the target, current process stage and the next decisions that need to be secured.