M&A strategy
 

• Corporate strategy: To give your M&A strategy clear guidance, we’ll help refine your corporate strategy, identify current and future growth opportunities, evaluate competitive market positioning, and seek opportunities for portfolio-improvement across your current and future-proof strategic business areas.
• Inorganic growth paths: First, we’ll define areas that require inorganic growth to leverage market opportunities by analysing competitor actions and customer demands. Then, we’ll determine if there are opportunities for horizontal and vertical integration or diversification that can improve competitive advantage.
• Target profiles: We’ll help identify the characteristics of a model target by identifying capabilities within the organisation that need to be enhanced, as well as those the company cannot afford to have undermined through an acquisition.
• Investment thesis: We’ll evaluate the alignment of strategic rationale to the corporate strategy and growth needs by identifying deal drivers and synergies that indicate if the acquisition is a sound investment.

Like the art of tightrope walking, merger and acquisition strategy demands skill and sequencing, with only one chance to get it right.

We work alongside your senior executives to define strategic objectives and how to employ M&A, in alignment with the corporate strategy, to drive profitable growth and improve competitiveness.

Knowing the where and how—where the company wants to compete and how it plans to win—is essential to define an effective path and identify strategic acquisition targets.

We provide M&A advisory services from early in the M&A lifecycle through to integration, as well as support with disciplines such as financial advisory, IT, and tax to deliver broad-based information that can inform the M&A strategy.

Our dedicated teams that have extensive experience in working with companies ranging from private family businesses to scale-ups and large international corporates, share their broad expertise through our end-to-end M&A services for various market segments.

Transaction preparation
 

• Target identification and screening (target screening, criteria definition, scenario planning)
• Transaction readiness (M&A readiness, carve out preparation, legal structuring, tax preparation)
• Deal financing and structuring (debt and capital advisory, green financing, private placements, legal and tax structuring, estate planning)
• Business case and valuation (transaction modelling, valuation)
• Preparation of information memorandum and other process documentation

Through target screening and identification, based on e.g., the target characteristics defined in the M&A strategy phase, we assist leaders and stakeholders in finding, weighing, and comparing potential targets. We also make sure your company is fully ready to start the transaction journey by supporting the preparation of the transaction and conducting readiness assessments in various fields.

Transaction negotiation, diligence, and execution
 

• Approaching the market/short list
• Structured information exchange with potential buyers/sellers
• Leading negotiations with potential buyers/sellers
• Due diligence (financial, tax, commercial, operational, IT, HR, legal, ESG, …)
• IPO (IPO Lab, assist services, readiness and execution)
• Transaction execution (anti-trust clearance, SPA, deal and negotiation support)
• Transaction documentation (SPA, TSA, …)

We can contact the market to verify market interest, set up a structured information exchange, and start negotiations between parties.

During the due diligence, we will critically examine risks and value drivers underpinning a deal so you can focus on the bigger picture, start structuring the financing options, and optimally prepare for the transaction closing. During a synergy and value qualification exercise, we will assist in identifying a comprehensive list of cost and growth synergy opportunities, which are foundational to planning efforts and achievement of synergy goals post deal close.

Integration and divesture strategy
 

• Day 1 readiness, planning, and stabilisation
• Integration/Separation management office
• Synergy targets and realisation
• Organisational design; Leadership and workforce transition
• Transaction service agreement (TSA), carve-out and stranded cost support
• Employee experience, change management, and communications
• Functional integration/separation: Research and development, sales and marketing, operations, HR, finance, tax, IT, real estate, legal

The merging or de-merging of two or more organisations triggers a flood of complexities. The best acquirers follow a structured and disciplined approach, with clear strategic objectives, detailed implementation plans, and a focus on creating and capturing value from the start.

We bring together some of the most experienced and dedicated integration and divestiture teams across our global network to deliver results for all industry sectors. We have supported some of the largest transactions globally, as well as impactful transactions for corporates and private family companies in the Belgian market.

We help maximise the benefits from integrations with world-class programme management skills and robust operational and financial analysis expertise.