Executing a transaction can be daunting both in terms of the buyer’s capacity and expertise. Employing an experienced bid support adviser along the way can accelerate a deal.

The business end of a transaction means big decisions to short deadlines. Even if you're a seasoned acquirer, multiple diligence providers, work streams, and negotiation points can be overwhelming.

Our bid support advisers can ease the pressure: from top-up diligence reports covering recent trading to interpreting sell-side materials from vendors and leading meetings with the preparers of the vendor due diligence. We can also act as a sounding board to optimise deal mechanisms.

  • Experienced professional staff
  • Flexible scoping
  • Extension of your team
  • Experienced professional staff
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    Our dedicated deal advisers assist with transactions every day, and are here to listen and support you.
  • Flexible scoping
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    The provision of bid support services can scale with your requirements until the transaction is complete.
  • Extension of your team
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    We work closely with you to get the right results, providing friendly, reliable and responsive assistance and opinions.

Why Grant Thornton

With us, you will get a senior-led, hands-on and tailored buyside approach that puts the full breadth of our firm’s experience to work for you. You will receive objective and evidence-based advice, strengthened by our knowledge of market norms and understanding gained from writing sell-side reports and acting on all sides of transactions.

Our people thrive on delivering meaningful, practical and quality bid support that makes a difference. And our geographical reach puts a huge bank of talent at your service.

Private equity buy-side engagement

The challenge
A private equity client needed help interpreting vendor due diligence reports and drilling into detail on underlying earnings, validity of COVID-19 adjustments and the profitability trend of customers.
The solution
An experienced team interrogated the underlying data and presented a revised and simplified view of a reasonable position that our buyer could justify.
The result
Our red flag report corroborated the investment rationale and gave our client the confidence to maintain their bid, as well as greater understanding of the business, its seasonality and likely unwind of COVID-related impacts.

There are a large number of things to consider when completing a transaction. Bid support is flexible and can include the following:

  • Bid process management
  • Initial valuation and purchase price allocation
  • Advice on heads of terms
  • Debt advisory, including introductions to potential funders
  • Financial modelling
  • Pensions review
  • Data room review
  • Review of vendor due diligence reports
  • Top up due diligence
  • Support at due diligence and management Q&A sessions
  • Bank case forecast reviews
  • Completion mechanism and SPA advisory
  • Review of buyer's bank presentation
  • Completion accounts preparation and review
  • Commercial and strategic review of the target, its customers and its market
  • Review of synergies
  • Carve out and integration planning and implementation
  • Transitional service arrangements