Mergers and acquisitions

Deal execution requires qualified legal, tax, and accounting advisers. This structures the commercial thinking and identifies what needs specialist work; it does not substitute for it.

The thesis comes first, and in writing

Before looking at any target: what would an acquisition get us that we cannot build or partner our way to, and why is buying better?

Legitimate theses are specific — a capability that would take three years to build, access to a customer base we cannot reach, consolidation economics in a fragmenting market, a team with scarce expertise.

Illegitimate theses, all common: growth for its own sake, defensive panic, the target became available, and the belief that two struggling businesses combine into a healthy one.

Write the thesis before the target. A thesis reverse-engineered to fit an available company will justify anything.