Private Equity

Our transaction team sources opportunities for private equity firms. We act as sell-side advisors for a variety of clients while also advising private equity firms on underwriting issues pertaining to technology and intangible (IP) asset value.

We offer varying levels of pre-transaction due diligence in line with our client’s position throughout the investment cycle. Whether our client is part of the bid process and wants an initial high-level red flag check or has confirmed exclusivity and needs a more holistic review, we help our clients understand their counterparties and strengthen their negotiating position. In addition to public records and social media research, we undertake overt or discreet interviews with sources close to the target, providing actionable intelligence to support the decision-making processes.

As part of the transaction due diligence process, most investors seek one or more outside assessments from third parties, often with individual expertise. We deliver a comprehensive solution combining financial, operational, and technical expertise to provide investors with turnkey, holistic transaction diligence. Our rapid initial reviews provide operational and financial insights that not only look at historical performance but also include an assessment of sustainable future profitability. Most transactions require one or more of the following assessments, which we provide to investors from a single source:

• Quality of Earnings 
• Quality of Operations
• Cyber Security / Technology Review & Evaluation
• Intellectual Property (IP) Valuation & Review
• Tax Diligence
• Human Resources Systems Review 
• Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Valuation
• Environmental, Health & Safety & Sustainability Assessment
• Political Risk Analysis
• Supply Chain Integrity Assessments

Regardless of the type of transaction, it is important to continually revisit and improve operationally oriented strategies, especially when a shift in an enterprise’s operational footprint or corporate strategy could put new pressure on operations.

We have an unparalleled track record of implementing solutions for operational excellence. Our operations review provides a comprehensive assessment of the target investment company’s operations in all aspects, including evaluating the management talent and organizational structure, supply chain and manufacturing processes, systems and controls, and sales and marketing processes.

We provide an in-depth evaluation of these areas to help inform our view of the target company's future performance and thoroughly examine the business's underlying operational health. While our operations review is intended to provide a full-scope view of an organization’s operations, it is deliberately flexible and adaptable to each unique transaction’s requirements based on strategic, financial, or bolt-on investment strategy.

Before a private equity firm makes an investment, we evaluate the current state of a target company’s cyber security maturity and hygiene programs against industry best practices and help map these to our client’s existing functions. Our experts specialize in security testing/hardening and program development and can help if significant gaps are identified during the initial assessment.

Energy markets are only at the beginning of a decades-long transition driven by increasing climate regulations and rapid decarbonization, which profoundly impact energy infrastructure investments. Significant political, regulatory, and market risks specific to each energy market, geography, and asset class will vary over time and significantly complicate investment opportunities. Our experts have an in-depth understanding of market fundamentals and risks, successfully assisting investors in identifying and evaluating energy infrastructure investment opportunities worldwide. We have evaluated hundreds of energy assets, advised clients on market entry strategies, and performed due diligence investigations into specific investment opportunities. We have performed state-of-the-art analyses of various conventional, renewable, and storage plants worldwide. Our specialties include electric utilities and power producers and their generation assets.

Once our client has reached the exclusivity period and has access to the target’s data room, our team of accounting and valuation experts deliver a tailored approach to financial due diligence. We leverage deep industry and operational expertise with a full suite of services to understand the composition and quality of a target’s balance sheet (including fair value determination) and assess the quality of a target’s earnings, financial reporting, and associated internal control structure.

Our experts assist private equity clients to seamlessly integrate and align business functions, operations, systems, and company cultures following an acquisition. We help identify cross-functional synergies between companies, mitigate potential issues, and maximize business enterprise value. We assist with integration planning and execution efforts, including overarching strategy and direction, operations, culture creation, communication, leadership, and short-term KPIs, among other areas.Our proven methodology addresses the primary pillars of business success – a company’s driving purpose, its people, operational processes, platform, product, and presence in its respective market(s).

We help private equity firms manage the activities of their portfolio of companies through systematic and targeted online monitoring. Our team monitors traditional media, social media, and legal filings to alert our clients of any major activities within or around the company on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. We start all monitoring projects with a consultation to ensure we understand our client’s parameters and priorities.

We recognize that not every transaction will necessarily include sufficient time to accomplish all desired cyber due diligence. However, we recommend conducting a deep review of our client’s portfolio of companies to ensure that they all meet industry standards for cyber security. Our team also provides additional cyber security services, including incident response and preparedness planning, tabletop exercises, training, and virtual/fractional CISO (vCISO).

Our team is comprised of forensic accountants, eDiscovery specialists, former law enforcement professionals, and former regulatory and litigation attorneys with decades of industry experience. We provide a multidisciplinary approach to investigations and post-acquisition disputes related to a broad range of allegations, including fraud, accounting and financial reporting issues, corruption, and employee misconduct. Our professionals interview key employees and other relevant parties while analyzing electronic and manual accounting records to identify the root cause and financial impact of key issues.

Our experts support companies in distress by providing significant experience as turnaround consultants, chief restructuring officers, interim management, receivers, financial advisors, board members, trustees, and other related roles. We utilize an integrated method to maximize recoveries for both creditors and equity. Our team has a longstanding track record of successfully turning entities around in multiple industries.

Our global team includes engineers, scientists, lawyers, technologists, intellectual property advisors, and cryptocurrency consultants who deliver guidance to clients in the private equity industry. Their knowledge-based expertise addresses various environmental, medical, engineering, construction, and regulatory matters, providing our clients with critical insights relating to infrastructure, construction, real estate, healthcare, litigation funding, and digital assets.

We also provide pre-acquisition environmental due diligence, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and operational reviews, as well as corrective measures and implementation assistance post-acquisition.