What strategic M&A consulting actually looks like
Most middle-market business owners face an M&A decision a handful of times in their career — buying a competitor, selling to a strategic, structuring a partnership, navigating a partner buyout. The people on the other side of the table do this every quarter. That asymmetry costs sellers millions in unrealized value and costs buyers years in poorly-integrated deals.
Strategic M&A consulting closes that gap. We act as the experienced operator in the room — independent, hourly-billed, and aligned with one thing: getting the right deal done on the best terms achievable for our client.
Unlike commission-based brokers, our incentive isn't to push a transaction across the line at any price. If the data says walk, we say walk. If it says renegotiate, we renegotiate. If it says close, we close — and we help you do it properly.
How we engage
- Buy-side advisory — investment thesis development, target screening, outreach, indication of interest (IOI), letter of intent (LOI), and end-to-end deal management through close.
- Sell-side advisory — exit positioning, valuation analysis, confidential information memorandum (CIM) preparation, qualified buyer outreach, and negotiation through definitive agreement.
- Transaction support for owner-operators — second-set-of-eyes review on inbound offers, structuring help on partner buyouts, or hourly guidance during due diligence with another firm.
- Valuation and deal structuring — DCF, comparable transactions, and precedent analysis; earnouts, seller notes, equity rollovers, and tax-aware structures.
- Post-close integration planning — first 100 days, talent retention, system unification, and synergy realization tracking.
Who this is for
Founders evaluating a strategic sale and wanting an independent advisor — not a broker chasing a commission. Private equity sponsors and family offices building an investment thesis in a specific Texas or Gulf Coast vertical. Operators in the middle of a deal they're already running who want experienced eyes on diligence or structure. Boards facing a buyout offer who need a defensible second opinion before responding.
If your transaction is below $1M of enterprise value, business brokerage is usually a better fit and we'll tell you so. If it's a true investment-bank-scale process ($100M+), we'll refer you. Our sweet spot is the middle: complex enough to need a real advisor, small enough to need transparent hourly billing instead of opaque success fees.
Engagement terms
$150/hour, billed in 15-minute increments. Engagements begin with a $1,500 booking retainer (10 hours) that reserves dedicated advisor time on our calendar. The retainer is non-refundable once an engagement begins and is applied directly to billable work. Every hour is itemized in a weekly time log so you know exactly how the retainer is being spent.
No success fees. No commissions. No conflicts.