One person is your lead adviser; behind them sit specialists for each workstream of the transaction. The team is assembled for the sector and the task.
You deal with one person. The work is done by specialists.
Manages the client relationship, accountable for the result and the timetable, the single point of contact.
Earnings normalisation, financial model, scenarios.
Independent valuation, substantiation of value, the bridge to transaction price.
Title, encumbrances, structure, the agreement.
Tax consequences of the structure, risks, the transaction tax map.
Checks that figures reconcile across documents and that each has a source.
the map of roles on a transaction
Practising specialists with closed-transaction experience are brought in: valuers accredited to work with state corporations, transaction lawyers and tax advisers. Specialists are engaged for the specific asset, so the team includes someone who has done something comparable. The team assigned to your project is disclosed when the mandate is discussed — with names and evidence of qualification.
seven stages and seven gates
The diamond under a stage is its gate: the condition without which the next stage stays closed. A status at each transition: what is done, what is blocking, what comes next.
| Stage | What happens | How it closes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Intake | review of the task, boundaries, the list of missing data | a decision to proceed |
| 2. Compliance | screening of the parties, source of funds, conflicts of interest | compliance clearance opens the next stage |
| 3. Data gathering | information request, data room structure | completeness of materials |
| 4. Analysis and valuation | normalisation, model, value range | internal review accepted |
| 5. Packaging | teaser, memorandum, presentation | owner approval |
| 6. Going to market | distribution, NDAs, buyer questions | genuine interest |
| 7. Offers and closing | offer comparison, negotiation, agreement, completion | funds received |
At each transition you receive a brief status update: what is done, what is blocking, what comes next. We report the result of the work.
多算勝，少算不勝 — “Those who calculate much prevail”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War, “Laying Plans”. A transaction is won before the negotiation — where the calculation was done.
You see the work in real time instead of a call every second week.
The status of each stage, completed documents, the buyer list with markers — who received it, who signed an NDA, who made an offer. Buyer questions and our answers sit in a single log.