Create distance in negotiation
Price, adjustments, conditions, timing or missing information are often easier to handle when they are not carried directly by the buyer’s CEO or management team.
Buy-side acquisition
Buy-side support to acquire a company
Your company wants to make an acquisition without having all the required M&A capacity in-house? A Senior M&A adviser can lead the discussions, structure the process and support the transaction through signing.
NC Corporate acts as a hands-on buy-side intermediary alongside management and its advisers: first discussions with the target, opportunity assessment, valuation, LOI, due diligence, negotiation and transaction management.
The engagement is sized to the buyer’s actual situation: a first acquisition, a one-off transaction or an additional deal for an already acquisitive company. You remain the decision-maker at every stage.
Why use a buy-side intermediary in an acquisition?
Protect the seller relationship
The buyer and seller can continue building their relationship while NC Corporate carries the more sensitive transactional discussions.
Keep the process moving
An acquisition quickly creates many parallel workstreams. NC Corporate structures the next decisions, coordinates advisers and keeps the timetable moving.
Add experience without building a permanent M&A team
For a company that acquires occasionally, it is not always efficient to build a full in-house M&A function. Capacity is activated only where it is needed.
A buy-side intermediary can make the approach and negotiation easier by creating distance on sensitive issues while protecting the relationship between buyer and seller.
First, second or tenth acquisition: the real issue is having the right capacity at the right time.
Corporate buyer
SME owner or CEO
You want to acquire a competitor, supplier, complementary business or company that provides entry into a new market.
Occasional acquirer
Holding company or family-owned group
You make occasional acquisitions without maintaining a permanent in-house M&A team.
Internal capacity
CFO or management team
You have an opportunity, but no one can carry the process alone alongside their day-to-day responsibilities.
Additional transaction
Experienced acquirer
You have completed acquisitions before but need a senior intermediary to carry an additional transaction.
From interest to closing
- 01Target identified
- 02Strategic review
- 03Valuation
- 04LOI
- 05Due diligence
- 06Negotiation
- 07Signing
01
Framing
Understand the business, the market and what the acquisition must deliver.
02
Initial assessment
Review accounts, key contracts and dependencies to decide whether to proceed.
03
Valuation
Build a reasoned range, cross-check methods and test assumptions.
04
Letter of intent
Structure price, financing, timing, exclusivity and conditions precedent.
05
Due diligence
Coordinate and synthesise financial, legal, employment and technical reviews.
06
Negotiation
Address price adjustments, warranties, earn-out and seller undertakings.
07
Signing
Finalise documentation, satisfy conditions and prepare closing.
Genuinely hands-on support
NC Corporate does not stop at making recommendations. We work inside the process and carry the matters that need to move forward.
- - Preparing and leading discussions with the seller
- - Opportunity assessment and valuation
- - Structuring and negotiating the LOI with advisers
- - Managing the data room and due diligence timetable
- - Coordinating legal, financial, tax, technology or HR advisers
- - Synthesising and prioritising risks
- - Tracking open points and preparing decisions
- - Negotiating the principal economic terms
- - Transaction management through signing and closing
Regulated expertise
Legal drafting, tax opinions and formal audits remain with the relevant regulated advisers. NC Corporate coordinates them and does not replace them.
Deploy the M&A capacity required without oversizing the set-up
NC Corporate can support an identified transaction without imposing a team that is oversized for the deal. The set-up is calibrated to the deal stage, the role required and the resources already available within the buyer.
Fee principle
For execution-only work, remuneration combines fixed fees calibrated to the scope and, where relevant, a reduced and capped success fee triggered at closing.
Need to identify a target or prepare integration?
No target identified yet?
M&A origination is the starting point: NC Corporate can build your target universe and open discussions with business owners.
Has the deal been signed?
Post-acquisition integration can then be structured and managed.
Let us discuss your acquisition.
A few details are enough to prepare a useful first conversation with a Senior M&A adviser.
Frequently asked questions from corporate buyers
I run an SME and want to acquire another company. Who can support me?
NC Corporate can act as buy-side adviser and intermediary, from the first target approach or an already identified opportunity through valuation, LOI, due diligence coordination, negotiation and closing.
Why use a buy-side intermediary instead of negotiating directly with the seller?
An intermediary creates distance around price, conditions and sensitive issues, protects the relationship between buyer and seller and brings discipline to the process. The buyer retains every decision.
Can you support a first acquisition?
Yes. NC Corporate supports first-time acquirers as well as experienced companies that need additional capacity for another transaction.
Can we engage you if we have already identified the target?
Yes. An execution engagement can begin with an already identified target, without a prior origination mandate.
What if we have not yet found a target?
NC Corporate can start with an M&A origination mandate to define the relevant target universe, identify companies and open discussions with their owners.
Who coordinates due diligence?
NC Corporate coordinates the timetable, data room, requests and risk synthesis. The reviews are performed by the relevant legal, financial, tax, technology or HR advisers.
Who supports the LOI and negotiation?
The Senior M&A adviser supports the buyer on valuation, the LOI and principal economic terms alongside legal advisers. The buyer remains the decision-maker.
Do we need an in-house M&A team?
No. NC Corporate can work directly with the CEO, CFO or management team, or reinforce an existing M&A team.
Do you replace lawyers or accountants?
No. NC Corporate coordinates their work but does not replace legal and tax advisers or the professionals who conduct formal audits.
Can you support post-acquisition integration?
Yes. Where needed, a separate capability can structure and manage Day 1, the 100-day plan and integration governance.
Let us discuss your acquisition.
Whether a target is already identified or the project is still being structured, let us review what you want to acquire and the M&A capacity actually required.