Private Equity Firms

Private equity and investment banking firms meet the challenge of finding worthy investments for their clients’ funds.  They possess superb skills in identifying, funding, and legally transacting acquisitions (or divestitures), but it is estimated that 80% of all acquisitions fall short of the initial “plan.”  Financial acquirers can often benefit greatly from the experience of ICA’s proven operating executives in fully assessing the inherent issues and potential regarding the quality of a target firm’s organization, business model, strategic and operational fitness, and assets, as well as the key integration issues and deal risks that should be addressed.  Our goal is to enable our clients to properly value the enterprise while maximizing their actual post-deal EBITDA performance.  In the process, ICA helps clients with the following gaps and blind spots:

• In contrast to often optimistic projections, acquired firms are already – in a sense – “fully grown” with established warts, habits, behavioral, and brand/reputation problems just under the surface.  Further, the ownership transition itself can shock the equilibrium of the acquired firm.  ICA can help to verify assumptions related to growth, operational fitness, and integration requirements.  
   
• The acquirer has its own reasons for acquiring a company, but may not be totally objective during due diligence in recognizing company strengths/weaknesses and post-deal integration issues, leading to unrealistic timetables and financial return projections.  ICA operating executives can spot risks, identify incremental value-adding strategies, sharpen ideas for post-deal integration, and enumerate helpful actions to strengthen the “newco” enterprise going forward.
   
• ICA is an ideal long-term supplier able to enhance the efforts of portfolio holding companies by providing sharpened due diligence, post-deal general management consulting, executive recruiting, and portfolio company board counsel.