How a search works
A search is only as good as the conversations behind it.
A screen produces a list. A list is not a pipeline, and in this market the difference is most of the value.
We build the target universe from who we already know rather than from a database, because the databases here are incomplete and the interesting companies are private, family-held and unlisted. Then we approach owners directly — usually people we or an IMAP colleague have known for years, which is what gets a first meeting rather than a declined email.
From there we stay in the room. Indicative structure, diligence coordination, negotiation and completion, with the same team throughout. Where the target is cross-border, the IMAP member firm in the counterparty market works to the same timetable and the same set of documents.
The honest constraint: this is slower than a broker-led auction. Owner-led situations move at the owner’s pace, and the ones worth pursuing are frequently two years from a decision when we first speak to them.
What we do
Four things a buy-side mandate covers.
What decides success
Four factors, in the order they matter.
Buy-side mandates in this market succeed or fail on access rather than analysis.
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Existing relationships
Whether the first approach comes from a stranger or from someone the owner already knows.
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Patience on timing
The best targets are often years from a decision. Mandates with a six-month horizon usually miss them.
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Clarity of criteria
A tight brief finds more than a broad one, because it makes the approach specific and credible.
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No conflicting mandate
An adviser also selling in your sector cannot represent you properly. Ask, and ask specifically.
Questions investors ask
The commercial answers, without the pitch.
Not in the same situation. We act for one side per transaction and will tell you at first contact if a conflict exists, rather than running both and managing it internally.
Twelve to twenty-four months is realistic for an off-market acquisition. Shorter usually means a target that was already in a process, which is a different exercise.
The majority. Most owners we speak to are not running a process, which is precisely when a bilateral conversation is worth more than a data room.
Yes, and often do. We are frequently engaged for access and local execution while the commercial view stays with your investment team.