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Deals strategy

We work alongside financial and strategic investors on their ventures related to mergers and acquisitions, and other value creation opportunities along the entire deal lifecycle

Strategy consulting for deals strategy and operations

Deals provide opportunities - for faster growth, development of stronger capabilities, accelerated operational transformation, value realization and protection, as well as divestments. But in today’s competitive deal environment, knowing which deals to pursue can be challenging.

Our deals strategy and operations experts at Strategy& and PwC Germany leverage years of industry experience with a technology-driven and personalized advisory approach. Strategy& excels in Commercial Due Diligence (CDD), Operational Due Diligence (ODD), and crafting solid equity stories, while PwC provides leading expertise in Project Management Office (PMO), M&A technology integration, human capital management in M&A, and carve-outs. Together, we support you in post-merger integrations (PMI), helping to maximize your success and create sustainable value for the future.

Maximizing success through profound due diligence

Time and again, companies have to adapt to evolving market conditions. External events, new competitors, emerging technologies, and other unexpected disruptions can all trigger the need to change processes or add capabilities. But no matter the circumstances, it is critical to evaluate potential deals with a comprehensive, strategic due diligence process, which enables you to fully grasp the fundamental value of a business - both its current value and its post-acquisition potential. Our Strategy& deals strategy team can work with you to develop a clear, testable thesis as part of your investment strategy to identify both upsides and risks. In essence, strategic due diligence is about holistic thinking, understanding a business beyond its immediate numbers, and preparing thoroughly to maximize the success of M&A deals.

Embracing a value creation mindset

It is no longer just the size of an investment, merger or acquisition that defines its success; it is also about how you deliver maximum value after a deal has been signed. Our deals strategy team with experience across industries has in-depth methodological proficiency, a wealth of experience, and the required skills to support you across the entire deal lifecycle, including how to take an active approach to ownership. The earlier we are involved within value creation, the more value our clients achieve and the earlier the full potential is reached. Our value creation mindset helps clients reveal untapped sources of growth and performance improvement.

The 3-phase model of a deal lifecycle is shown as an upward curve. On the left is the pre-deal phase in light red, in the middle is the deal phase in medium red, and on the right is the post-deal phase in dark red. The pre-deal phase rises from left to right, the deal phase stays on one level, and the post-deal phase rises again. The three colors illustrate the transition from value critique to value creation. Below, the terms Pre-Deal, Deal, and Post-Deal are explained with bullet points in three bars.

Pre-Deal

  • Market entry strategy
  • Exit strategy
  • Investment strategy
  • Value creation assessment and analytics

Deal

  • Commercial due diligence
  • Operational due diligence
  • IT and Tech due diligence
  • Digital due diligence
  • ESG due diligence

Post-Deal

  • Full potential planning
  • Strategic and business planning
  • Growth and M&A strategy
  • Performance improvement
  • Integration strategy
  • Carve-out consulting and post-merger-integration (PMI)

Our consulting expertise in deals and private equity

We provide commercial assessments of business strategies that include deal rationale, potential synergies, and the likely outcomes. In doing so, we create a clear view of the potential for success, highlighting key risks and opportunities relating to our clients’ investment hypotheses. In collaboration with other teams in our global PwC network, we also offer integrated due diligence services that provide a seamless, multidisciplinary, end-to-end experience across the deal lifecycle (e.g., commercial, financial, and tax due diligence services).

We help clients realize their goals by bringing a clear focus on identifying and enabling key value creation levers before, during, and after a business transaction. Our team does this by wholistically assessing the company and its positioning to develop a coherent, capabilities-driven strategy that aligns at every level. Only a coherent company - one that pursues a clear strategic direction, builds a system of differentiating capabilities consistent with that direction, and sells products and services that thrive within that system - can reliably and sustainably outpace competitors and achieve its full potential.

Find out more about CDS+G

Bringing our extensive industry and transactions experience, we help financial investors and management teams identify and evaluate opportunities to make better portfolio investment and divestment decisions. We also support investors in developing in-house strategies to identify growth opportunities and guide their investment decisions.

We work with financial investors, management teams, and shareholders to prepare for and maximize value at exit. Partnering with our clients, we help develop investment strategies, prepare business plans, conduct primary research to support the deals strategy, and assist in the sales process.

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Client results

A leading packaging company needed a detailed vendor commercial due diligence report, outlining its exit story and growth ambitions going forward. As technological advancements in chemical engineering improved the quality of recycled packaged materials (e.g., low-density-polyethylene) and increased plastic waste processing capabilities, new growth fields started opening up. During the due diligence process, it became clear that these growth opportunities could play a large part in demonstrating the comprehensive business strategy to new investors.

Ultimately, our work on the due diligence resulted in the creation of a new business unit that combines waste sourcing, processing, and recycling to fully leverage the ongoing macroeconomic trend toward a circular economy - drastically increasing the overall valuation of the company.

ESG considerations are increasingly crucial for private equity funds, driven by heightened scrutiny from regulators and investors. With that in mind, a leading private equity client engaged our team to develop a comprehensive ESG strategy, integrating ESG principles across that transaction cycle and value creation playbook. We identified key focus areas and performance indicators, using a hands-on assessment tool and a communication plan detailing operational impacts and steps forward. Then, we crafted the strategic plan to implement detailed ESG levers throughout the transaction processes, as well as a refreshed value creation playbook to emphasize the funds value proposition, increasing its market competitiveness.

Two struggling high-tech laser semiconductor companies sought to enhance their market position and operational efficiency by considering a partnership. To help assess the proposed deal, our deal advisory team analyzed both companies’ product portfolios and technological capabilities to identify areas for potential collaboration. We identified synergies in technology, operations, and go-to-market plans, and we quantified potential financial upsides. This led to the evaluation of specific partnership options and the determination of optimal operational scenarios. Ultimately, we gave a recommendation for future partnership models based on this assessment.

A private equity-owned provider of premium valves, hydrants, and other solutions for water flow control had struggled to be divested. The overall group consisted of too many different brands and product groups, serving various end markets with limited synergies across the group. We helped the private equity owner evaluate a strategic reset of the group, resulting in a split of the group into three digestible, specialized, and attractive companies.

We then helped the company prepare for divestiture by providing end-to-end sell-side support (i.e., preparing sell-side marketing information and managing the M&A process, including orchestration of the buy-side due diligence processes for the sell-side). Our services included the facilitation of investor and management meetings, analysis of bids, and facilitation of sale and purchase agreement (SPA) negotiations. Ultimately, we enabled our client to successfully divest the entire asset.

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Samy Walleyo
Samy Walleyo

Partner, Deals Strategy and Operations Leader, PwC Germany

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