SERVICES

STRATEGIC DEAL ORIGINATION

We work with strategic acquirers and financial sponsors in the Knowledge Economy to develop detailed, insight-driven plans for investment into new markets. By leveraging our sector insight and purpose-built methodology, we can rapidly convert an attractive investment thesis ‘on paper’ into an actionable plan to realize the opportunity, helping you to exploit key innovation trends through a less crowded, lower risk route.

YOUR STRATEGIC DEAL ORIGINATION MINDSET

Market Conditions

What are the sector dynamics, valuation & deal structure trends?

Strategies

What are the synergistic scenarios for maximizing investment returns in the space?

Value Creation

How can complementary assets be interconnected to maximize growth?

Exit Optionality

How can maximum attractiveness at exit and flexibility on timing of sale be delivered?

Actionability

Will the strategy appeal to shareholders and key management of the firms we target?

Accessing Relationships

How can we get access to the appropriate decision-makers within target companies?

OUR FOUR-STEP DEAL ORIGINATION PROCESS

INDUSTRY REPORT

Deepening the investment thesis starts with comprehensive research and collation of market intelligence. We develop an industry report with detailed insight and analysis into M&A trends and commercial dynamics in a market segment. This includes defining an industry target universe in terms of capabilities, lifecycle and value chain, as well as evaluating potential platform and major add-on option(s) for suitability, value and execution factors. We assess key value creation options within the industry and elaborate on what they mean for optionality on exit.

COMPREHENSIVE SCAN

We leverage extensive proprietary and public data sets to provide a comprehensive scan of platform and add-on target candidates. Targets are then profiled, presented and discussed in regular interactions with the client. This analysis is used to support scoring, outreach and direct ongoing search.

PRE-EMPTIVE OUTREACH

We undertake a pre-emptive outreach to owners of prioritized platforms and add-on candidates. This is used to validate the fit and gauge actionability. The feedback is used to refine the investment thesis.

ENHANCED THESIS

The outcome of the process is an enhanced thesis comprising of deep, live insight on distribution and quality of assets. This adds assurance and credibility to the execution of the M&A strategy.

THE EQUITEQ DIFFERENCE

Our sector specialism in the Knowledge Economy extends globally and results in us being the leading M&A choice for many business owners wishing to sell. Advising businesses in the sector on the sell side translates into a unique knowledge of, and relationships with, many of the smartest businesses in the market. This brings unparalleled insights into the dynamics in multiple segments of the industry, giving us a strong platform from which to build the enhancement of your investment thesis. We understand the range of business models utilized in the sector, the drivers of value, and how to assess them. Crucially, we also have a sense of when many of these businesses might consider a transaction and what their future aims might be, meaning we have the access to test and refine investment theses during the engagement.

Our team and methodology. At Equiteq, we have an experienced team dedicated to buy side engagements. The team utilizes a rapid, high-impact methodology, leveraging Equiteq’s sector insight, unique proprietary data sets and market intelligence, to develop enhanced investment theses and actionable plans.