PlatformM&A Lifecycle
One deal, from thesis to exit.
A thesis becomes a target. A target becomes diligence, diligence becomes a close, and a close becomes the years that either deliver the thesis or don't. Sherpa runs every stage, so nothing gets rebuilt at the handoffs.
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Pick a stage.
Know what you're looking for.
Put the investment thesis in Sherpa instead of a slide. Every target, and later every deal, gets measured against it.
Henry keeps the thesis in mind on every target he looks at.
- Investment thesis
- Fit criteria
- Portfolio fit
- Fund and firm setup
Find the targets that fit.
Score targets against the thesis and the companies you already own. Research them, argue them and decide, in one place.
Henry works the pipeline with you and makes the case for and against.
- Target pipeline
- Thesis scoring
- Target research
- Go / no-go
Understand what you're buying.
Run the data room, the request list and the Q&A. Ask any question of the documents and get the answer with its source. What you find becomes risks with owners.
Dewey files every document. Adrian has read all of them.
- Virtual data room
- Requests
- Answers with sources
- Risks
- Evidence
- Industry specialist
Walk into Day 1 ready.
Plan Legal Day 1 and Operational Day 1 separately, sequence the work that has to land first, and see what's ready before the gate.
Clarence tracks the contracts. Oz the cutover. Emily the announcements.
- Legal Day 1
- Operational Day 1
- Critical path
- Contract novation
- Day 1 communications
- Stage gates
Keep every workstream moving.
Run seventeen workstreams from one plan, with owners, dependencies, milestones, risks and decisions. Status stays current because the work happens here.
Scout keeps the workstreams in step, with a partner in every lane.
- Workstreams
- Tasks
- Dependencies
- Milestones
- RAID
- Decisions
Turn the thesis into results.
Break the investment case into initiatives with baselines, yearly targets, owners and costs. Prove what each one delivered with actuals.
Warren watches the initiatives against the model with your CFO.
- Initiatives
- Synergies
- Baselines
- Targets
- Owners
- Actuals
Keep watching after the deal team moves on.
Compare ERP actuals with the deal model, track R&W and earn-out deadlines, and report to the board from the same numbers.
Maxwell watches the R&W policy. Ernie the earn-outs. Henry the firm.
- ERP actuals
- R&W
- Earn-outs
- Portfolio monitoring
- Board reporting
Show what you built.
Every decision, initiative and result from the life of the investment is already documented. An exit readiness score shows what a buyer will ask about before they ask.
Henry reads the whole investment, from thesis to today.
- Investment history
- Evidence
- Performance vs thesis
- Exit readiness
Stage by stage
What Sherpa does at every stage.
01 · Thesis
Know what you're looking for.
Put the investment thesis in Sherpa instead of a slide. Every target, and later every deal, gets measured against it.
Henry keeps the thesis in mind on every target he looks at.
- Investment thesis
- Fit criteria
- Portfolio fit
- Fund and firm setup
02 · Source
Find the targets that fit.
Score targets against the thesis and the companies you already own. Research them, argue them and decide, in one place.
Henry works the pipeline with you and makes the case for and against.
- Target pipeline
- Thesis scoring
- Target research
- Go / no-go
03 · Diligence
Understand what you're buying.
Run the data room, the request list and the Q&A. Ask any question of the documents and get the answer with its source. What you find becomes risks with owners.
Dewey files every document. Adrian has read all of them.
- Virtual data room
- Requests
- Answers with sources
- Risks
- Evidence
- Industry specialist
04 · Close
Walk into Day 1 ready.
Plan Legal Day 1 and Operational Day 1 separately, sequence the work that has to land first, and see what's ready before the gate.
Clarence tracks the contracts. Oz the cutover. Emily the announcements.
- Legal Day 1
- Operational Day 1
- Critical path
- Contract novation
- Day 1 communications
- Stage gates
05 · Integrate
Keep every workstream moving.
Run seventeen workstreams from one plan, with owners, dependencies, milestones, risks and decisions. Status stays current because the work happens here.
Scout keeps the workstreams in step, with a partner in every lane.
- Workstreams
- Tasks
- Dependencies
- Milestones
- RAID
- Decisions
06 · Create value
Turn the thesis into results.
Break the investment case into initiatives with baselines, yearly targets, owners and costs. Prove what each one delivered with actuals.
Warren watches the initiatives against the model with your CFO.
- Initiatives
- Synergies
- Baselines
- Targets
- Owners
- Actuals
07 · Operate
Keep watching after the deal team moves on.
Compare ERP actuals with the deal model, track R&W and earn-out deadlines, and report to the board from the same numbers.
Maxwell watches the R&W policy. Ernie the earn-outs. Henry the firm.
- ERP actuals
- R&W
- Earn-outs
- Portfolio monitoring
- Board reporting
08 · Exit
Show what you built.
Every decision, initiative and result from the life of the investment is already documented. An exit readiness score shows what a buyer will ask about before they ask.
Henry reads the whole investment, from thesis to today.
- Investment history
- Evidence
- Performance vs thesis
- Exit readiness
Capabilities
Twelve capabilities. One deal.
Start with the problem in front of you. Everything else is there when the deal needs it.
Deal Pipeline
Find targets that fit your thesis
ExploreDiligence / CloseVirtual Data Room
Keeps working after diligence
ExploreDiligenceAI Due Diligence
Answers from the documents, with the source
ExploreClose / IntegrateM&A Project Management
Run the deal without a tracker
ExploreCloseDay 1 Readiness
Legal and operational Day 1, sequenced
ExploreIntegrateIntegration Management
Every workstream moving together
ExploreCreate valueValue Creation
From the thesis to delivered value
ExploreCreate value / OperateERP Actuals
Is the deal delivering?
ExploreOperate / ExitBoard Reporting
Board and SteerCo packs, already built
ExploreOperateR&W Monitoring
Survival periods, breaches, claims
ExploreOperateEarn-Out Monitoring
Statements, deadlines, payouts
ExploreOperate / ExitPortfolio Monitoring
Every investment, by fund and firm
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