Acquiring a business
Acquire a business with full awareness.
An acquisition is played on two fields: what you are really buying, and what you do with it in the first hundred days. Financial statements tell the past; they don't reveal dependence on the seller, a fragile client base, or a margin held up by just two contracts. Being supported means buying at the right price and taking the reins without breaking what works.
Symptoms
The signals you probably recognise.
- The asking price is based on a multiple, not on the real economic value of the business.
- A significant share of revenue depends on the seller's personal relationships.
- Two or three long-standing customers account for most of the margin.
- No visibility on profitability by activity, customer or contract.
- The company runs without written procedures: everything lives in a few people's heads.
- You know what you're buying, much less what you'll do in the first six months.
Impact
What it really costs.
Failed acquisitions share the same pattern: a price paid too high, a poorly prepared transition, and customers leaving with the seller.
the window where customer and team trust is won or lost.
of revenue sometimes tied solely to the seller's personal relationship.
often account for the target's real margin.
Our approach
Six steps, a course you can hold.
- 1
Scoping your project
Your criteria, your financing capacity, the type of business you're actually able to run.
- 2
Diagnosis of the target
Economic analysis: margin by activity and customer, dependence on the seller, portfolio solidity, operational risks.
- 3
Market study
Competition, sector trends, target customers and positioning of the acquired business: we validate the opportunity before committing to financing.
- 4
Viable business plan
Realistic post-acquisition forecast: revenue, margin, working capital needs, sensitivity scenarios and financing plan.
- 5
Valuation and negotiation
A well-argued valuation range, negotiation points and warranties to demand before signing.
- 6
First-100-days plan
Knowledge transfer, taking over key customer relationships, internal communication and cash-flow steering.
Deliverables
What you actually get.
Documents you can use from the following week, not a report gathering dust in a drawer.
- A complete economic diagnosis of the target, beyond the financial statements alone.
- A map of dependencies: customers, suppliers, key people, seller.
- A well-argued valuation range and priority negotiation points.
- A written transition plan with the seller's exit timeline.
- A 100-day action plan with owners and deadlines.
- A steering dashboard from month one: cash flow, sales, margin.
To go further
Related programmes.
Frequently asked questions
What business owners ask us.
- Ideally before the letter of intent, while it's still possible to negotiate price and warranties. We also step in after closing, to secure the first 100 days, often the riskiest.
- No. They secure the accounting and legal audits. We look at the real economic value: customer portfolio quality, dependence on the seller, margin by activity, and the company's ability to run without its founder.
- That's sometimes the best possible outcome. Walking away from an acquisition based on facts is better than buying a customer dependency or an illusory margin.
- Through a written transition plan: know-how to transfer, customer relationships to take over, the seller's exit timeline and internal communication, to avoid losing key customers and employees.
A first 60-minute conversation, no strings attached.
We start from your real situation, identify the two or three levers that matter, and you leave with a clear view of what comes next.