Business acquisition workflow checklist

Prepare the investment story

Gather target-company identity, transaction structure, historical financials, purchase terms, management, and the integration plan. Identify who owns or controls the asset and which material agreements are still being negotiated. Keep evidence separate from forecasts and state unresolved facts plainly.

Build the economics

Reconcile purchase price, financing, working capital, normalized earnings, transition costs, and operating forecasts. Make clear which values are actual, assumed, or contingent. Check that the raise, uses, fees, and distribution terms describe the same plan. Supporting exports vary by workflow; do not assume every asset class has a real-estate-style Excel model.

Review the disclosures

Consider customer concentration, key-person dependence, diligence limits, integration, leverage, and seller arrangements. The suggested risk library is a starting point and needs deal-specific edits. Confirm issuer, security, exemption, investor process, and tax or regulatory statements with the appropriate advisers.

Prepare the review package

Use Review to find missing information, then export a working Word draft for counsel. Provide the underlying agreements, diligence, and model. Replace every fictional sample fact before sharing. A completed workflow is not an approved offering.

Separate the target from the acquisition vehicle

Collect the target’s operating history, ownership, financial statements, key customers, employees, material contracts, and proposed acquisition terms. Distinguish the target business from the issuer raising investor capital, and explain how funds move into the transaction.

Use the integration section to describe actual plans and dependencies: management, systems, staff retention, customer transition, and any expected cost savings. Identify the source and limits of financial adjustments rather than copying a sample’s earnings claims. Review debt and seller arrangements alongside the proceeds budget.