Our client, one of the largest financial services firms in the world, identified sustainability as a strategic opportunity for growth. They commissioned us to source suitable acquisition prospects - ESG expert niche firms with Fortune 500 clients, IP, and thought-leadership recognition.

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After 5 years the vast majority of the acquired talent and assets remain successfully integrated within the new firm.

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From our market short-list we selected 2 finalist opportunities to cover the range of ambition from “toe-dipping” to “diving- all-in” for the client counter-party, who had to socialize the final deal internally with her CEO.

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i) The US #1 ESG advisory boutique at the time, described by Fortune Magazine as "the go-to consulting company for green  business" (numerous Global 100 clients and recurring $MM engagements).

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ii) A smaller <$10M firm with a similar profile and clients ranging from Alcoa to Walmart.

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By building deep, trusted relationships with key senior executives at the targets we assessed all senior talent, identified major retained clients and revenue streams, investigated proprietary IP and service offerings, and benchmarked against our extensive knowledge of the talent / service line alternatives within the marketplace. 

 

This depth of analysis and trust smoothed the way to a successful acquisition, overcoming several concerns on the side of the owner-sellers of the smaller firm.

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Ultimately our ability to align the seller's values (impact at scale) with the amplification potential of the buyer's global platform, allowed us to overcome the acquired firm's culture-fit concerns. As a result, our client was able to seamlessly on-board the entire team, plus assets, of the client-preferred target, using the acquiring firm's in-house transaction team.

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After 5 years the vast majority of the acquired talent and assets, including substantial Fortune 100 client relationships, remain successfully integrated within the new firm, generating deal sizes significantly (5-10X) higher than the previous team had been able to achieve.