Transaction due diligence

We provide the critical insight required for clients to reach informed decisions on prospective investments, major transactions and key partnerships.

Deals hinge on detailed knowledge of target companies and their management teams. We work closely with investors and their advisors to obtain a deep commercial understanding of each deal, and provide stress-tested intelligence which informs decision-making.

We’ll work with you to uncover key findings – including compliance obligations, regulatory or legal issues, management team dynamics, and key person risk.

We view S-RM's analysis as an integral part of our M&A due diligence process. They have a unique ability to identify critical issues and dynamics, about which we would otherwise be blind.

Corporate M&A client, Chambers & Partners, Investigative Due Diligence, Crisis & Risk Management Guide 2023

Why S-RM?

Proactive client relationships

Our dedicated and experienced practitioners provide a highly responsive service to deal teams. We are comfortable working to transaction deadlines and pride ourselves on an adaptable approach.

Global reach

Our multilingual team has global reach and deep experience operating across both developed and emerging markets.

Industry knowledge

S-RM’s expertise and network extends to every major sector and many niche or emerging ones.

Actionable intelligence

Our team are experienced providing discreet, actionable intelligence. We deliver clear and accessible reports with practical conclusions or recommendations.

Our deal support services

We undertake due diligence investigations and bespoke research assignments for private equity firms, corporate M&A teams, hedge funds, DFIs, sovereign wealth funds, investment banks, and their legal advisors to address critical gaps in their knowledge.

Integrity due diligence

We provide intelligence on acquisition targets to identify integrity and governance issues and answer strategic questions arising from legal and commercial due diligence. We also support banking teams ahead of major capital markets transactions.

Cyber due diligence

We preserve and enhance value by identifying cyber risks to acquisition targets and providing costed remediation plans. We also work with the target post acquisition to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.

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Market entry

We help you enter new markets by providing information on the political, regulatory and commercial environment, as well as the key stakeholders and decision makers relevant to the proposed investment.

Provenance investigations

We investigate the provenance of key assets, seed capital, licences and contracts to identify integrity issues, such as hidden beneficiaries, fraudulent arrangements or corrupt relationships.

Background checks

We conduct due diligence on management and investment professionals to identify potential risks to an investor.

Case study

Medical devices manufacturer – Asia

A leading global private equity firm considering investing into an east Asian medical devices manufacturer tasked us to conduct pre-transactional due diligence. Following public record research in target languages and speaking to former employees, franchisees, competitors, and regulatory contacts, we identified that the company struggled to enforce franchise control protocols leading to instances of mis-marketing of products. Our report provided the client's investment committee with vital intelligence to support their decision-making.

Case study

Digital infrastructure investment – Global

A global private equity sponsor engaged us to conduct due diligence on two key customers of an investment target. Our investigation found that both customers operated an online gambling platform targeting users in countries where online gambling is illegal or strictly regulated. The platform has been subject to regulatory action, and dark and deep web searches confirmed that the platform had been targeted by criminal groups to facilitate money laundering. Our client was able to adapt their valuation of the business accordingly.

Case study

Energy assets – Africa

An energy client engaged S-RM ahead of a major acquisition in an African frontier market. The client sought to understand the impact of wider corruption, human rights and environmental concerns on their investment target. Leveraging our broad in-country network and regional expertise we provided reporting which balanced concerns with mitigations, and distinguished between speculative market commentary and informed reporting. Based on our report - and in conjunction with their legal advisors - our client was able to make a nuanced assessment of the assets' risk profile.